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THE 


CATHOLIC CRUSOE; 

or 

OWEN EVANS, ESQ., 

SURGEON’S MATE. 

C0nq;rxntont 

ON A DESOLATE ISLAND IN THE CARIBBEAN SEAb 

1739. 


omv FROM THB OKIOINi.L MM. 
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ANDERDON, M. A., 


P. J. KENEDY & SONS 

44 BARCLAY STREET, NEW YORK 




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♦Whftt manner of record this? why time so spell 1’ 

Nay, were we all as wise, as good, to-day 
As grace may find us on our further way. 

It were indeed superfluous and unmeant ; 

Then Evans ne'er had wove his palm-leaf tent. 

Nor the meek Manuel known those years’ delay 
Far from his mission lov’d, his Paraguay. 

Yet in life’s war the foe’s fell armament 

Hath deadly words, and pen-shafts that can slay : 

Wilt scorn the marksman, who un tutor’d bent 
Aims, with one bolt from his weak weapon sent, 

For truth and right a stroke in that wide fray ? 

Pass, friend, unscath’d I and speed thy bark fair weathac 
Leave Owen with his five to range their isle together. 


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CONTENTS 




CHAFTEB I — Th« Iiland 

CHAPTER n — Th® landing 

CHAPTER HI— We Start for a Ramble 

CHAPTER 

CHAPTER V— Might haT® been Wori# 

CHAPTER VI— Night and Morning 

CHAPTER Vn— The Firat Meal, and the First Parliament 

CHAPTER Vin — A Diiappointment and a Danger 

CHAPTER n— Dinner, and a Battle after It 

CHAPTER X — Wo Discorer what a Priest 

JHAPTER XI— The Best and Worst Shot 

CHAPTER Xn— How mnch Goodness goes to Forglrenese 

CHAPTER TTTI — A Lesson out of a Shark’s Mouth 

CHAPTER XIV— We Do Something Uncommon. 

CHAPTER XV— Prayer Hinders No Work 

CHAPTER XVI— We Fire Into the Enemy’s Camp, and Retreat to Our 
Own 

CHAPTER XVn— Fire-Side Talk 

CHAPTER XVin— A Few Little Debts 

CHAPTER XIX— Wo Gain Our Prise. 

CHAPTER XX— Blown Into Harbor 

CHAPTER XXI— A New ArrlraL 

CHAPTER XXn— Doctoring and Purreying 

CHAPTER XXIII— We are taken to be Gods 

CHAPTER XXTV- A Lesson in Indian 

CHAPTER XXV— Freedom or Slarery • • 

CHAPTER XXVI— The White Man no Hero 

CHAPTER XXVn— Prodgers Learns His Lesson 

CHAPTER XXVni— We Design a Safe Retreat 

CHAPTER XXIX— What is Truth 

CHAPTER XXX — The Serpents’ Hole 

CHAPTER XXXI— Notice to Quit 

CHAPTER XXXn— The Mother Tongue 

CHAPTER XXXm — Various 


gA«n 

ft 

9 

If 

28 

2T 

S3 

30 

45 

60 

04 
72 
79 
87 

05 
97 

108 

107 

113 

119 

124 

127 

131 

187 
142 
144 
150 
155 
160 
168 
176 

188 
188 
198 
190 


IV 


CONTENTS 


rAcn 

CHAPTER XXXIV— A Funeral, and a Leason for the Lirlng 901 

CHAPTER XXXV— Outwitted 

CHAPTER XXXVI— We Aim at a Proyieion Store 209 

CHAPTER XXXVn— The First Catechism. 216 

CHAPTER XXXVin— Worth Thinking On 229 

CHAPTER XXXIX— A Positiye Precept 229 

CHAPTER XI^RambUng in Walk and Talk 232 

CHAPTER XLI — ^The Swearer’s Button 241 

CHAPTER XLH- A Gem of the Future 246 

CHAPTER XUn— “ Nimble Thought can Leap Both Sea and Land . . 260 

CHAPTER XI JV — Don Manuel’s Sermon 269 

CHAPTER XLV— The Archery 269 

CHAPTER XLVI — Archery and Pottery 278 

CHAPTER XLVn— The Castle with its Outworks 278 

CHAPTER XLVni— Our Larder and Farm -Yard 284 

CHAPTER XLIX— We Carye out a Kitchen 289 

CHAPTER L-Rock Architecture 299 

CHAPTER LI— What we Ought to haye Known Before 308 

CHAPTER LH- Another Leaf out of the Catechism 808 

CHAPTER Un — Spring-Tide Labours 317 

CHAPTER LI V— Sea and lAnd 822 

CHAPTER LV — Preparing for a Change 829 

CHAPTEIR LVI — Other Reasons 881 

CHAPTER LVn — Spiritual Mass. 836 

CHAPTER LVni — The Spanish Armada 842 

CHAPTER LIX — Harbour and Hospital. 848 

CHAPTER LX— A Treaty Made and Ratified 364 

CHAPTER LXI — The Lieutenant's Story 360 

C HAP TER LXII — ^Tbe Same Continued 867 

CHAPTEIR LXin — Lawful Wrecking 874 

CHAPTER LXIV — Rumours and Secrets 879 

CHAPTER LXV — ^The Best Discoyery of all 884 

CHAPTER IXVI— Signs of Another Moye. 891 

CBLAPTER LXVII — Preparations Thereto 897 

CHAPTER LXVni— Departure 403 

CHAPTER LXIX— The Eruption 409 

CHAPTER LXX— Death in More Shapes Than One ill 

CHAPTER LXXI — Our Deliyerance 428 

CHAPTER LXXII— What Happened to ns aU aftir. 431 

SUPPLEMENT 438 

DON MANUEL’S NARRATIVE 441 


INTRODUCTION. 


Moat House, Llandevodioo, 

m THE County of Glamorgan, 
this tenth day of June, 1754. 

Nephew Owen, — Thy dutiful greetings came to 
hand, Tuesday was a week, with the news of thy 
penning thine adventures in foreign parts : nor had I 
failed to thank thee by the carrier on the Friday last 
past, but that Watkin Penruddock, the schoolmaster 
at Cowbridge, who is now putting down my word of 
mouth cometh not over to our village but thrice in 
the month, and hath this day been so moiled in teach- 
ing forward youths, as scarce leaveth the good man 
(with all his painful benevolence) time nor spirits to 
write out this my letter fair. * Indeed I might have 
asked our new preacher (whom precious Mr. Wesley 

♦It is to be supposed that Mr. Penruddock felt himself 
bound to discharge the part of a faithful amanuensis ; or he 
would scarcely have inserted such a compliment to himself. 
It may be necessary to add, that the epithet painful^ though 
become antiquated at the date of this letter, (which may be 
accounted for by its being written from Glamorganshire) was 
still used in England not so very long before, in the sense of 
painstaking t diligent, conscientious. Thus, we read of a pat/t^ 
fvl student^ a painful preacher^ etc. — Ed. 


INTEODUOTION. 


hath left amongst us, to our no small contentation) to 
hold tlie pen : but in fine, I trouble thee not with the 
divers reasons that have made me tarry till this day 
to answer thine. It pleasureth me thou didst take 
in good part the admonitions I felt myself bounden 
to write to thee before, on thy return to England, 
when thou didst inform me of thy most sad defleiionf 
from the protestant faith. It doth even now seem 
a mystery to my poor understanding (but we are 
all frail creatures, prone to lean on ourselves) that af- 
ter thy careful bringing up thou shouldst forsake tlie 
way of thy fathers, and remove the ancient land- 
marks which they have set. And for the priest, of 
whom thou writest more like a romancer than a rea- 
sonable man, methinks he might have attended to 
his own concerns, or to the Spanish bodies that came 
in the ship, who, being born papists, were not to be 
enlightened, except Mr. Wesley had fallen in with 
them on his mission to Georgia, which it seems that 
precious man never did. That priest might have let 
my nephew be, to follow the religion of the Evanses, 


f Probably intended for defection ; but one must not be 
too severe on the Welsh schoolmaster. As to the sentiment, 
whether it be an unaided observation of Owen’s aunt, or an 
interpolation, the answer is sufficiently obvious. The deputy 
harbor-master, in changing his religion, was but returning 
to the way of his fathers ; and, far from removing the an- 
cient landmarks, did but investigate their whereabouts, and 
clear them of the rubbish accumulated over them in later 
times. It might also have been worth the good old lady’s 
pains to inquire what was the religion of the ancient families 
from whom she derived her descent and (apparently) hen 
sense of some importance. — E d. 


INTEODUCTION. 


7 


from father to son; not to speak of his mother’s 
blood of the Perkinses, who derive from the Wat- 
kinses, and they from the Griffiths, and they from 
Owen Glendower, and so up to Evan Dhu, grandson 
of Cassibalaun, nephew to King Lud as thou know- 
est well ; for 1 have told thee nigh an hundred times. 
Notwithstanding, I harbor no malice against the 
man, but only wish he may have gone down quietly 
to the bottom of the deep sea in that open boat thou 
didst write of, as a judgment on his doings to my 
poor sailor-boy. But thus much 1 indited to thee 
faithfully, as my duty was, in a second letter which 
thine uncle Pritchard carried in his portmantle as far 
as Newbury, and then entrusted to the public post, 
under free cover to Sir Llewellyn Tregyon, knight of 
the shire for Cardigan, then attending at the parlia- 
ment house in Westminster ; the which I trust thou 
didst safely and dutifully receive. Wherefore I 
touch no more on that head for the present ; only 
hoping thou mayest one day come to Moat House to 
see thy old aunt once more, and thereat be pri\dleged 
to sit under zealous Mr. David Williams, or mayhap 
even to listen to the precious Mr. Wesley himself: 
in which case I am fond to think thou wouldst quick- 
ly unlearn thy papistry again. So no more at pre- 
sent, saving to notify to thee, thy sister Jane hath 
been married, now going for seventeen weeks to one 
Richard Davids, who, taking for new-fangled ways, 
electeth to call himself Davies, after the English 
fashions, and so writeth his name, for he can write, 
like thyself, and nigh as fairly, and liveth no nigher 
to this than Llanychllwydog, in the county of Pern- 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 


broke, doing business as a wool-factor, though not in 
so gainful a way as I could desire, to Newport and 
Fishguard, and is an honest man of decent parent- 
age, all but his temper, which is sudden and incon- 
stant, and besides, which is my chief contentment in 
it, is a joined member of Mr. Wesley’s flock; and 
thy cousin Evan Roberts died last Martinmas, 
though I should not use that word, which savoureth 
of thine own way of thinking, but, indeed, he depart- 
ed about the middle of last November, of a quinsey : 
so no more at present from 

Thy loving aunt, 

Martha Jane Evans. 

For Mr. Owen Evans, Esq., Deputy Harbour- 
master, these with care : he dwelleth betwixt the Old 
Jetty and the Fisherman’s Hospital, 

Great Yarmouth, 

Norfolk, 

England. 


Postage freed. 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS* 

THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


CHAPTER L 

THE ISLAND DISCOVERED. 

We were going under easy sail, some three or 
four knots an hour, with a light, fair breeze, which 
had held, on and off, the last couple of days. But 
we did not take advantage of it ; the captain being 
anxious to give a last chance to our consort, the En- 
terprise of Newhaven, to whom we had given the 
rendezvous in these latitudes, before we bore away 
for California. So at least, he said ; but I had my 
suspicions about what he might be intending ; and 
all along, a kind of misgiving had come over me, 
from the whole appearance and arrangements of our 
ship. For no sooner were we fairly out of port than 
a couple of long swivel-guns had been hauled up 
out of the hold, and mounted on spare carriages up- 
on the quarter-deck, so as to sweep fore and aft. 
Then the men were exercised at these every day, 
sponging and working them as if in action, and also 
at the two short carronades we carried : as indeed 
every trader of our size was used to carry at that 
period. Our crew had been increased, even while 


10 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

the blue-peter was flying at the fore, by ten or twelve 
as ill-looking, cut-throat fellows as ever you saw ; of 
all nations, Americans, Malays, Portuguese, one or 
two Newfoundlanders, and so on. They knew none 
of the rest of the crew of the Spitfire^ who, on their 
part, except a small number, were no models of good 
conduct either. put these new-comers fairly outdid 
them in all cursing and wickedness; and they were 
the very men who were practised every day in work- 
ing the guns, handling the shot and powder-lockers, 
going through the exercise with their cutlasses and 
handspikes, etc. In short, my mind misgave me, the 
captain was as much on the look out for some weak- 
er trader to fall in with, as anything else ; and I 
thought (if I did not misjudge him) there was a wick- 
ed look in his eye when he spoke of the Enterpnse 
as if that was the enterprise he was truly after. 

I got very uncomfortable at these signs of our skip- 
per’s intentions ; and the state of my mind increased 
the distaste I had conceived against a sea-faring 
life. It was my first voyage after being certified 
for surgeon’s mate ; but the captain (Aram Hopkins 
was his name: ’tis no breach of charity, I hope, to 
record it,* for every one that knows the sea, knows 
he was hanged, three years after, on Staten Island 
for a pirate ; though how I came to know it, the rea- 
der may wonder) he, I say, asked me to go the voy- 

* Our friend Owen is mistaken here, however. It is al- 
ways a breach of charity to speak in this way ; though the 
degree of wrong varies according to the nature of the 
charge, and the likelihood of its becoming otherwise known 
—Ed. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


11 


age m capacity of full surgeon, with my berth 
and all supplies free, promising to show me some- 
thing of sea-life. He did, indeed ; and something of 
land-life too, when and where I least looked for it. 
But my part now was to keep up a good face, and 
seem as careless as if I observed nothing out of the 
way. This was no easy matter, as the days went on ; 
and I could see that the captain eyed me with dis- 
trust from time to time, and more so every day we 
sailed. 

I looked aound for some one with whom I might 
take counsel: but could not tell whom to trust. 
There was, indeed, an honest fellow named Tom 
Harvey among us, of whom I shall have enough to 
say by-and bye : I could have spoken to him. more 
freely than to any of the ship’s company beside. But, 
then, I did not know how far Tom’s discretion might 
extend : my experience of life having taught me how 
few people there are who can keep a secret. There 
was also a Spanish priest on board, Don Manuel he 
was called ; who had taken his passage on board of 
us for SanFrancisco, whither he was going to estab- 
lish a mission of his order. More than once I resolv- 
ed to speak to him : but I scarce know what kind of 
a feeling held me back, I had been bred up a pro- 
testant ; and though, at that time, had not much re- 
ligion of any kind, still I felt unwilling to open my 
mind to a priest, one of a sort of men I had always 
looked on askance, and as we say, out of the corners 
of my eyes. 

This priest, in truth, seemed a quiet man, who had 
a kind word for every one that came across him 


12 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

though he did not speak much. He kept a good 
deal in the cabin, and was a hard reader, when he 
was not sea-sick. On fine days he would come up, 
and walk a little on deck, reading his book attentive- 
ly, and speaking to himself; or counting (it seemed) 
a string of beads that hung at his girdle. Methought 
he was saying his prayers ; and I used to wonder 
how any man, priest or layman, could have patience 
to say so many prayers in the day. Once or twice 
he asked me questions on medical subjects ; chiefly 
on the treatment of wounds and fevers, and the use 
of herbs in their cure : I could see he had studied 
those subjects a good deal. Well, in spite of our 
few conversations, the long and short of it was, I 
had never spoken to a priest before, and would not 
make up my mind to open my thoughts to him. 

Things were going on in this way, when, about 
eleven in the forenoon of Monday, August the twen- 
ty-third, the man in the top suddenly sang out. 
“ Land on the starboard bow !” and a refreshing 
cry it was to us all ; we having been almost three 
weeks without seeing anything to break the everlast- 
ing sea-line all round us. Up we were at once in 
the shrouds, in the rigging, out upon the yards, at 
least the more sure-footed ones, all eyes straining to 
starboard. As for me, who was as eager as the rest, 
not knowing whether this accident [as we did not 
expect land] would bring any change to the condi- 
tion I was in, I made my way up to the mizen top, 
with my own glass : a very clear one, that proved a 
faithful companion to me afterwards, where I did not 
expect to keep it so long as it and I staid together. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUgOE. 


18 


When I got into the top, I could see, plain enough, 
even without my glass, a haze that stretched away 
to east-south-east of our course, like a thin bank of 
fog, and nothing more. It lay some ten or t welve 
miles from us, but so faint, I never should have tak- 
en it for a sign of land. The man’ on the watch was 
right, however, as it proved. We were sailing as I 
said, under a light breeze, three or four points from 
where the land lay. But the captain now ordered 
the ship about and we stood right in for it. 

As we drew nearer, I could observe this haze, or 
heat, gradually melt away from the land, and leave 
it clear. But the first thing to be seen in the way of 
land was the peak of a mountain that seemed pretty 
near the centre of the island [for island we judged it 
to be], but nearer to its northern most end. This 
ran up out of the mist before we could see the coast 
and lower grounds. It was somewhat in the form 
of a sugar-loaf, like the Peak of Tenerifie, though so 
much smaller ; only that it was rather flattened at 
the top. About half-way up, it was clothed with 
trees, as far as we could judge at our distance, and 
this was better seen the nearer we sailed. But all 
the upper part looked bare, with streaks down the 
sides of a greyish color : whence I concluded it to 
have been a volcano, or burning mountain, and that 
those were streams of old lava, or melted rock, that 
had burst from the top of the mountain, and flowed 
down the sides, hardened by cooling, perhaps ages 
ago. As for the rest of the island, as we sailed in 
it appeared green and wooded, well enough. Wo 
could see some small savannahs, or meadow-lands, 


14 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

very fresh and green, opening out among the woods , 
whence we judged the place must be furnished with 
fresh running water, or the heat [for we were now 
well within the tropics] would surely have burned 
them brown. 

So strange a desire now possessed me, that I must 
needs go and visit this island, if it were possible, and 
explore some of those green valleys, to see what they 
contained, and whither they led. I wished also to 
have a nearer view of the mountain, having always 
taken interest in reading of volcanoes, and tracing out 
the forms of some I had met with in different parts, 
though they had long ceased to burn, and had be- 
come overgrown with wood. In short, it was of no 
use for me to reason against myself : I was deter- 
mined that if there should be a landing-party from 
the ship, go I would, and see what was to be seen. 

Turning my glass from it at length, when I had 
scanned it over and over again from end to end, from 
the top of the sugar-loaf to a reef of low rocks that 
ran out south-west from its base, over which a strong 
surf was running, I gave a glance down upon deck 
There stood the captain holding secret counsel with 
the first mate, of which I shall have more to say in s 
moment. 


nu CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 


U 


CHAPTER IL 

THE UlITDING. 

So, when the preparations were making to get 
ready the long-boat for shore, coming down on deck 
again, I walked straightways to the captain, where 
he stood talking in a low voice with the mate, and 
asked to be of the party to land. 

Here I must needs make a natural reflection on 
two things which this settled desire of mine may be 
taken in proof of ; firstly, the little foresight we can 
have of what is to befall us ; nay, sometimes the very 
moment before it will happen : as may be seen in a 
thousand unexpected turns, both for good and ill, in 
the course of this changeful life. The other is, 
though I considered it not at the time, to see how the 
providence of our heavenly Father orders all for the 
best ; overruling, aye, the most untoward events, and 
in the way we had least expected or (sometimes) de- 
sired, to work our good as if in spite of ourselves. 
Here was I, a youngster, it might be said by compa- 
rison, starting in life with fairer prospects than sev- 
eral of my betters ; and now, blind mortal that I 
was, I came forward to get leave for a few hours, 
that was not to expire for many years, and pro- 
nounce against myself, with my own lips, a sentence 
of banislinient on a savage island ! And yet, this 
very thing that I was now about to do against my- 
self, as it seemed, was the means of my j)re8ervation, 
together with that of others. For I make no doubt, 


16 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

had I remained in the ship, both I, and four more of 
us had found a watery, aye, and a bloody grave. 
She soon after turned pirate, as I have related, with 
all hands on board ; and we, had we been there, 
would have had the choice of joining them on their 
robbers’ cruise, or pay the forfeit of refusing. 

Often since then, have I lifted up hands and eyes 
to heaven, even with the want of all things, on our 
desolate island, for not having long since been tied, 
neck and heels, with a twelve-pound shot to my feet, 
or sewn up in a hammock, to be hove overboard, or 
made to walk the plank, as the Spanish buccaneers 
treat the prisoners they sentence to drowning. For, 
all these things I afterwards represented to mv im- 
agination, adding to it (though, I own, in a second- 
ary degree) the murder of Don Manuel, Tom Harvey, 
and the rest who were saved with myself. And this 
I used as a sovereign remedy against such fits of de- 
jection, and almost despair, as came over me in the 
course of the years I am about to give some account 
of ; when things were so bad with us, we were fain 
to bear up against them by considering how they 
might have been even worse. 

But to make this short, let me come back to the 
day with which our troubles began. When I asked 
to go ashore, I was surprised, from experience of our 
captain’s surly temper, how readily he granted my 
request. There was a look in his eye, and I did not 
understand it; nor indeed did I understand the 
meaning of his words. “ We shall not be long be- 
fore this island,” said he, “ but time enough for you 
to collect some of your rare plants: for that, 1 judge, 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE, 


17 


is what you are after ; so there need be no Lurrying 
back to the ship till sun-down.” 

By this, the long-boat was ready, and all things 
found for her, sail as well as oars. While the men 
were lowering down two large jars for fresh water, 
and stowing away our day’s rations, together with 
some fowling-pieces, two muskets, and ammunition 
[for we were to be provided against wild beasts, as 
well as have means of killing some luxury in the 
way of an antelope, or a goat or two ; and no small 
treat that would be to men who had tasted nothing 
for weeks but salt junk], I ran down the companion- 
ladder for Don Manuel, our Spanish priest, to ask 
him to come ashore and see what the island furnished 
in the way of strange plants and herbs. I found hun 
prepared ; he, too, had spoken to the captain, and 
got leave as readily as I. He had with him a port- 
folio of sheets of blank paper, to preserve such plants 
as would wither in the hand ; a pruning knife to cut 
them ; and a small case of writing materials, to note 
down anything worthy of note in his way of remark. 
This served other purposes during our exile ; for we 
each kept a journal on the island, after our several 
fashions, or the reader would not have been troubled 
with these pages. His prayer-book [his Breviai7,he 
called it], that was scarce ever out of his hands ; a 
staff shod with iron, for climbing or pushing through 
the bush ; and a large cloak with sleeves, such as he 
told me the priests of his country wear on their jour- 
made up the rest of his e(][uipment. 

For my part, I hastily laid hands on some things 
I should want ; as my faithftil companion, the spy- 


II THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN SV4.N8, 

glass, which I slung across my shoulders ; a rifle thai 
ht^d been my father’s and would carry a good dis* 
tance, though now somewhat worn ; a bag of nflfi, 
balls and large horn of powder, a cutlass or hanger, 
and a strong serviceable clasp-knife in my pocket. 
This last, together with a ball of twine, I took for 
the sake of any rare plants I might meet with during 
our ramble. I know not by what providence it was, 
but surely from the whisper of some good angel in 
min.; ear, that T handed down into the boat my fish- 
ng-i od and tackle : namely, a leathern pouch, with 
wo or tliree reels of strong fishing-lines, and a book 
)f artificial files for casting at salmon and trout. 
Theso I had myself carefully tied, to beguile the 
tediousness of the voyage, having been well used 
to the fishing of the streams in my native Welsh 
mountains. 

The ship was by this time hove-to, say a mile and a 
half from the island ; they were afraid to venture fur- 
ther m, owing to the many small coral-islets, and 
jags of rock, that lay dotting the sea all about, as 
well as the dangerous reefs, which we could see be- 
neath us, the water being very clear. Into the long- 
boat we got ; seven seamen, besides Don Manuel and 
myself ; we pushed off at once, and spread our sail, 
which was of the kind they call a shoulder-of-mutton 
sail The wind became less steady as we neared the 
shore ; and tliere came, now and then, little puffs or 
flaws of wind from the valleys, that were vastly re- 
freshing; and we could perceive the moist, fresh 
smell of the trees cast to seaward, so delightful as 


THE OATHOLTO CRUSOE. 


19 


none can tell who know not ttie weariness of a long 
sea voyage. 

And now we had some ado to keep clear of the 
reefs, which seemed to nm out on all sides from this 
island. The one I had observed from the ship’s top 
appeared the most considerable and dangerous, and 
the surf beat over it violently, though there was so 
little wind stirring. Yet I noticed others too, some 
above the water and more beneath, so that we 
grounded once or twice, and had like to have been 
stopped altogether. 

We were now forced to take down our sail, and 
trust to our oars, that the boat might answer readi- 
ly to her helm. As I looked over the gunwale upon 
the reefs below [the water being as I said, exceeding- 
ly clear], they seemed to be of two sorts, wliich I 
could discern one from the other. The one darker, 
and not coming so near the level of the sea ; and these 
stretched away in lines, some very broad, from the 
island. This kind I took to be streams of lava-rock, 
once melted, and flowing down, perhaps ages ago, 
from the top of the sugar-loaf cone ; for that, I felt 
sure, was an old burning mountain, though its fires 
had been quenched, aye, it might be some hundred 
years, or more. The other sort of reefs looked as if 
they grew up from the first kind, and these came 
near to the surface, sometimes quite, but never much 
above it. I took these to be coral rocks, such 
as are formed in the Pacific and other seas by the 
wonderful work of small insects. Some were bright 
in color, white and red, or yellow, by which, and 
their growth, I knew them quite plainly for rocks of 


20 THB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

coral. In places, they branched out under the 
like the corals that are brought home to Europe, on- 
ly much larger : others were so decked and grown 
over with seaweeds, such as they have in the tropics, 
that there were, I may say, two forests growing un- 
der us, plainly to be seen through the water, the 
forest of rock and the forest of weeds. 

But the end of all this was, we had a difficult pas 
sage towards land ; and were glad enough to find 
after some trials, a sort of winding channel, between 
two of the dark reefs of rock that came shelving 
down from the mountain, and dipped at an angle 
quite into the sea. These rocky walls [for they 
stood pretty high] sheltered us from the surf, which 
we heard breaking loud on other parts of the shore. 
Only a roller, as they call it, came once and again 
after us from the open sea, and caught the boat’s 
stern with some violence; sending us along the chan- 
nel we had found, swifter than we would. And, 
had not our steersman been a skilful fellow, and well 
up to his business, we had most likely been stove 
against the rocks before we got further on our adven- 
tures. This afforded him ground, with two other ot 
the men, to swear he would not take the boat further 
than a comer which we turned just after it happen- 
ed. Here we found a little natural harbor, worn in 
the rock by the high tides, when the sea was swollen 
by the wind from south by-west. These men now 
said, plain and rough, they were in trust of the boat, 
and would not risk staving her, or getting her back 
to the ship in bad condition. They bade us take out 
our fowling-pieces, with the jars for fresh water ; and 


THB CATHOLIC CBU80K. 


explore the island as much as we would, ii only we 
might reach the ship again by the time all hands 
were piped to hammocks. For themselves, they said, 
they were content to stay there with the boat, or 
ra'jable about the rocks, and try their luck with fish- 
in ^ (for they had brought tackle with them, as well 
as tinder to strike a light), or to catch fresh crabs 
and other shell-fish, enough to make a broil of, in the 
pools below high-water mark. 

I make no doubt, in looking back upon this, they 
parted thus readily with the fire arms, to take away 
any suspicions of ours, as to what they intended. Or 
it might be some touch of mercy in them, such as 
may be found at times in the hardest and wickedest 
hearts. FTor were we, on our side (we, I mean, who 
landed and left the three men and the boat there) so 
simple as would appear at first sight : for their pro- 
posal came so reasonable, and was made with such 
seamanlike frankness, that no ground appeared to 
harbor any thoughts against them. However ; be it 
that we were wise or foolish (for ’tis of small use now 
to determine), sure I am we were heartily glad to 
find cur feet on land, and thought of little else. As 
to the priest, he did not above half understand what 
they said, so made no great objection. For though 
he spoke English well, yet it was like one who had 
learned it passably out of books, as (he told me after- 
wards) was the case. And there were many of the 
sea-phrases in use among the crew which, to be sure, 
were not found in kis books : so that he, who of the 
whole party was like to have made a calm judgment 


22 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

on our proceeding, chanced to be the one who least ua 
derstood it. 

We scrambled up the rocks, as best we might : 
not without slips and bruises, for the sea-weed was 
thickly grown here-about, and slippery as ice. It 
was well for us we escaped without sprains, or worse, 
which might, as we afterwards found ourselves, have 
proved a serious matter. But when we got above 
high water mark (and that we did with no small trou- 
ble), our travelling was easier, upon one of those 
streaks or pathways of rock leading up towards the 
mountain : like a sort of road up-hill, only so rough, 
on the surface, that soon it would have worn our 
shoes. 

Before we left the little harbor where the boat lay, 
one of the three men came up Avith our fowling 
pieces : as to my rifle, I managed to carry that with 
me. He also threw us the ends of two ropes worked 
into a noose, and passed round each of the water- 
jars, whereby we easily hauled these jars up the rock 
after us. Then they all bade us not be overtaken by 
night on the island, and promised with many oaths, 
they would stay for us where they were. So we 
turned away with light hearts for our expedition— 
and never saw them on shore again. 


IHR OATHOLIO CRUSO*. 


28 


CHAPTER HI. 

WK START FOR A RAMBLE. 

Twenty steps, or thereabouts, brought us off this 
rough rock ; then we found ourselves treading over 
a thick, soft carpet of mossy meadow, kept fresh by 
a little runnel of pure and sweet water, that found 
its way down to the sea through the same shaded 
valley that was leading us up into the island. Over 
our heads, the trees arched and met one another, lac- 
ing their branches and thick leaves across, to form a 
natural bower, which the rays of the sun could not 
pierce through, or very dimly. And many of them 
were such trees as we had never seen, though I had 
read of them often ; with ferns and reeds, from ten 
to eighteen feet high. For, as we had come from a 
colder latitude, and had not touched land before, this 
was our first acquaintance with the rich growths of 
the tropics. 

The change from our confinement on ship-board, to- 
gether with the freshness and perfiime of the avenue 
through which our line of m^rch lay, and which you 
might have supposed was planted and kept in order 
on purpose for our benefit, with the fancy, too, that 
^ had some hours before us on this delightful island 
(so it now seemed) to do what we would and range 
where we pleased ; all these things did so raise our 
spiiits, that I, for my part, could scarce keep from 
racing along the avenue : and Harvey and another oi 
the seamen broke out into singing snatches of their 


24 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 


rude sea songs. Even Don Manuel appeared more 
excited than was common with him ; and the w^hole 
party kept on laughing and talking, some saying one 
thing, some another, but all merry and contented : 
till on a sudden I stopped, and bade them remember, 
we were in an unknown land, and knew not, as yet, 
what we might have to encounter. It might, I said, 
be savages, or it might be wild beasts. “ Please God, 
it may be neither,” said the priest, and crossed him- 
self. “ I hope so too, sir,” added I ; “ but no one of 
us can tell ; and the part of prudence is, to guard 
against whatever may come.” 

So we agreed to keep all close together, and march 
in some sort of order. I volunteered to lead the 
vanguard, and told them the reason ; not that I 
claimed any authority over them (men being jealous 
enough about that, where each reckoned himself as 
good as his fellow), but being better armed with my 
rifle, I wished to take a full share of the danger, what- 
ever it might be. After me, came the three men 
with fowling pieces ; the muskets had been left in the 
boat, as seemed only reasonable, for defence of those 
who stayed in her. 

And here is a place, as good as any, for giving a 
list of our party, as we stood there, and loaded our 
arms for our ramble up the country. 

First, I place Tom Harvey at the head of the list : 
for a more active, honest, cheerful fellow I believe 
never sailed. He became my right-hand man, al- 
ways ready to second me in whatever was for good 
order and good fellowship among our party. 

Then comes Edward Hilton ; a well disposed lad 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


25 


enough in himself, but easily led by others of a firm- 
er nature than he ; and one that gave me some little 
trouble afterwards on that very score. 

These two completed, in my mind, the brighter 
side of the picture : as to the other couple of seamen, 
Richard Prodgers, and Harry Gill, I had not so 
much trust in them ; though indeed they were not 
quite the black sheep of the vessel’s crew neither. 

For Don Manuel, the priest, I knew not yet what 
place to give him in my thoughts. As I have said, 
he was a Catholic priest, and I no Catholic at all. 
What I had seen of him was quiet and harmless 
enough ; but I had my opinion to form ; and, on the 
whole, rather a prejudice against him, except when 
we talked on the subjects we had in common, as bo- 
tany, medicine, or the like. 

Lastly, as to the three we had left in the boat, they 
were among the very worst of the crew, though the 
most in the captain’s confidence : and I was glad 
when I found they were to be none of our party. 

Our first care now was to fill the jars with fresh 
water : which was soon done, by placing them in the 
channel of the little stream that was running swiftly 
by us. We scooped out with our hands so much of 
its bed as to sink them to half their depth in the 
gravel and stones ; then built up the stones we had 
displaced, into a kind of wall, or dyke, on both sides 
of the jars, till the water rose towards their brims. 
So we left them ; knowing they would both be filled 
within a quarter of an hour. 

After this, the matter was, to decide upon the plan 
of our campaign. I summoned a council of war ; told 


26 THE ADVKNTURlf OF OWEN EVANS, 

them, as our time was not long (it being now past 
three), we should consider how best to explore the 
island, and the mountain, which seemed the most re* 
markable part of it, while our leave of absence lasted 
That we had come for a ramble, and a ramble we 
would have ; for I supposed none of them wished to 
lie down under the trees, and sleep away their time 
— a thing they might do as well under the shade oi 
a sail on board ship. At this they all declared for 
an active bout of it till they must go aboard again. 
Then, said I, my counsel, is to make a circuit under 
the base of yonder mountain, following its bend, but 
still keeping in the valley, for plants and game. In 
this we may spend a couple of hours or thereabouts : 
then double back, and return to this spot over a part 
of the mountain itself, yet not to ascend too high. 
Our return will take from two hours and a half to 
three hours, allowing for the ruggedness of the travel- 
ling we may expect to find on the mountain. Thus, 
what with our progress through the lowlands, what 
with the elevation oi our homeward journey, we shall 
have explored the island pretty thoroughly, seen 
what grows on it, had a view of both sides of it (for 
to all appearance it cannot reach far beyond the 
mountain), and may chance to meet with some wild 
game on the way. 

Such was my plan, and I heard no voice raised 
against it. Indeed, as is often to be remarked, where 
there is no point started which touches self-love, or 
interest, the nine -tenths of mankind are content to 
have their plans laid down' for them, or anything to 
save them the trouble of thinking for themselvea, 


THR CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


27 


Tliig wag just the case now. No one amongst us had 
any thing better to propose, so they all agreed, and 
ofi* we started. First, I led the way, by general con- 
sent : my rifle ready slung for use, and my hanger 
at my side. Next, very naturally, for we had our 
plants and what-nots to collect, and also, were the 
most suited companions, next, I say, came the Span- 
ish priest, armed with such a staff as they use in go- 
ing over the Alps, and other mountainous passes, 
with his cloak gathered over his shoulders for more 
easy walking. Then Prodgers, Harvey, Gill, with 
their fowling-pieces. Lastly, Ned Hilton brought 
up the rear with a handspike he had borrowed out 
of the boat ; for, being an easy fellow, he made no 
bargain to have a gun — though I afterwards found 
he could shoot with the best of them, and better 
than Prodgers, by a good deal. However, in this 
world things are carried away, not by the most able 
— ^but by the most determined, to use them ; and the 
stronger will overcome even the longer head, and 
the more skilful hand. 


CHAPTER IV. 

DESERTED. 

We struck up, then, to the inland ; and at first 
we followed the channel of this stream, which led 
us up a ground that sloped away to the base of the 
mountain. Here we came again to a kind of mossy 


28 TH* ADTBNTURBS OF OWEN ETA NS, 

laoe, over-arched and shaded by groves of variout 
trees, as bananas, plantains, pepul, banians, cocoa- 
nuts, and palm trees, of several kinds, some tall and 
feathery, others with a broad spreading leaf, such as 
they use to thatch their houses in the Havannaha 
and Philippine Islands. It w^as, indeed, a sort of 
natural valley, that any rich owner in those planta- 
tions would give a round sum to have near his house 
— with a swift brook leaping, now to this side, now 
to that, through all its length ; which gathered it- 
self up in little pools of still water, or fell over the 
stones with a tinkle that sounded refreshing in the 
great heat of the day. 

We determined not to part company with this 
stream, so long as it did not lead us out of our 
course ; though at times we had to climb over rough 
ground, and swing ourselves round the roots of such 
trees as came too near the brink, for many times 
they did quite overhang it, yet we considered that 
this way of travelling was easier than to force our- 
selves through the cl^se thicket on either side where 
we might be tom by the prickly shrubs, and less 
able for defence against a sudden enemy, beast or 
man. 

For my part I was on the look-out for an occasion 
of getting up to the higher ground, that so we might 
oetter judge of the extent of the island. I believe it 
was not laid down on any of the ship’s charts — and 
this, I take it, was one reason why Hopkins, the 
captain, determined with the mate to leave us on it, 
that he might escape being tried for our murder, yet 
have us safe where we had little chance of being 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


20 


picked off again, to give evidence against his vil- 
lainy. 

But now suspecting no evil, and all in the gayest 
mood, we judged ourselves to be the first discoverers 
of the place ; and Hilton, taking off his neck-kerchief, 
and tying it to the top of his spike, took posses- 
sion (he said) of the Island in King George’s name. 
This made us laugh : as, indeed, a little thing would 
have made us on that holiday of ours. So following 
it up, we fell into some kindly contention how to 
name our new-discovered island. 

I proposed it should be called Manuel’s Island, out 
of compliment to the priest, whom, as being of an- 
other nation, we might consider a sort of guest, 
claiming hospitality on our ground. But I found, by 
the men’s looks, this was a notion they disliked alto- 
gether, though none spoke, except Hon Manuel him- 
self. And he at once thanked me with that courtesy 
which belongs to his nation, wherein they are rivalled 
by few, I believe among all people in the world. 
“ Senor,” says he (that was his Spanish way of ex- 
pressing Sir), with a manner between jest and ear- 
nest, “ you are too good to think of me on such an 
occasion. A poor priest has no claim or title to give 
his name to any spot on this great earth : he is call- 
ed to spend his strength, or shed his blood, wherever 
nis Master sends him ; ’tis quite enough,” said he, 
raising his looks, if his name be written in 
Heaven.” 

“ But,” continued the priest, and his manner as he 
spoke made us attend ; being so earnest and natural, 
and withal so courteous to each, that the rough sea- 


30 TH« ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

men listened to him as if he had dropped among 
them from the trees, or the skies: — “ whether,” says 
he, “ we are really tlie first who have set foot on this 
place or no, it must be acknowledged on all hands 
that we have been led hither by the good providence 
of God.” And here he bowed his head, lifting his 
hat as he spoke. “ So I propose, gentlemen, that in 
honor of Him who created us all, and has preserved 
us safe to this moment, we call the island after some 
of the great truths of that religion He has revealed. 
And surely,” said he, looking round on us with a 
cheerful smile, “ we may find something sacred in 
which we can all agree, whereby to christen the 
place ?” 

When he had thus expressed himself, I must own, 
the men looked at one another as if they had never 
heard the like before, and what the priest said was 
the last thing in their thoughts. I was taken aback, 
indeed, at what he said ; for at that time I must con- 
fess myself I was without any serious thought of re- 
ligion at all ; and did not feel to like the priest any 
more for having expressed himself in that way. 

“ Well, Senores,” said he, observing our looks, as 
we moved onward again, “ among my countrymen, 
as you have known in the course of your voyages, a 
discovery like this would be marked by some title 
borrowed from the gospel, and the history of the 
Church. We should call the island after the 
Incarnation of the Son of God, that is, the Annun- 
ciation ; or The True Cross, or in honor of the Con- 
ception of His most holy Mother ; or after all the 
Saints ; or some special saint, Saint Francis, Saint 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


81 


Dominic, Saint Thomas ; these names, with many 
like them, are familiar to those of you who have 
touched at the Spanish plantations. Some of those 
titles could not be expected in this case, since you, 
Senores, do not admit the thoughts which they ex- 
press : but why should we not call the place the 
Isle of the Resurrection ?” 

“ And I propose,” quoth Prodgers, breaking in 
roughly, “ that we call the place No Man's Land , 
for it belongs to us all equally, and ’t is our prop- 
erty, until the ship fires the evening gun.” 

“ Or Gill’s Country,” said Harry Gill, “ for I first 
limped ashore, and set foot on the island.” 

“ And measured it too,” remarked Hilton, “ for I 
saw you sprawling at full length among the sea- 
weed.” 

So with one discourse or another, but good hu- 
mored withal, we got through our ramble in about 
the two short hours we had allowed ourselves. We 
saw game in plenty ; chiefly of the hare kind, and a 
species of peccary or wild hog, with here and 
there an antelope, rushing through the thicket 
as we drew near. But we would not load ourselves 
with them at that time, trusting to a shot or two on 
our return to the boat. Of birds we saw several 
kinds new to us, together with some flights of Ma 
caws and parrots, bright in plumage, and noisy, that 
flew over our heads. 

The wood now grew so thick and pathless, we 
nearly lost our reckoning ; and quite lost our com- 
panion the stream, though we had tasted of it several 
limes to slake our thirst on this hot, weary march, 


82 THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

for SO it now became to us. Struggling hard, w« 
came by main force out of this wood ; and found, by 
the rise, we were on the slope of the mountain, turn- 
ing left ways from the side of our first entrance. 

At this point we cried a halt ; and sitting down, 
took out what provisions we had brought with us, 
which we shared equally among our number, and 
made a meal that was too scanty to be a long one. 

When our repast was finished, “ Now,” said I, “a 
short climb will take us high enough to afford a 
clear view on both sides ; we shall have a look-out 
to the leeward of this island — then we must push on 
smartly for the boat, lest we lose our way in the 
dark. Remember how suddenly night comes on in 
these latitudes.” I also told them, though we had 
hitherto reserved our fire, yet (as we had seen no 
sign of savages, but plenty of game), when once our 
faces were turned homewards, or shipwards rather, 
we would let fly at anything that came in our way. 

This being agreed to, we began the ascent ; dis- 
entangling ourselves from the last of the brushwood 
we soon found we were on the mountain indeed — foi 
it cost us some hard climbing, this side being, as we 
afterwards found, the steepest. The trees here were 
well nigh as close as the thicket below, so that we 
partly lost our way again ; and bending too much 
back toward the shore, we had, not a view of the 
further side of the island, but a sight that did not 
leave our eyes (our mind’s eye, I mean) for months, 
and decided our fate for years. 

For we came at once on a spot of clearer ground, 
with an opening left through the trees that looked 


THE CATAOLIO CRUSOE. 


8S 


straight out to seaward. Whether it had been so 
cleared by some yiolent gust of wind, or other natu 
ral cause, I know not ; but we now saw, too clearly 
the long-boat using oars and sail, just within a few 
strokes of the ship ; then the men we left in her 
clambering up the vessel’s sides, and a once all sails 
set on the Spitfire for standing out to -^ea. 


CHAPTER V. 

MIGHT HAVE BEEN WORSE. 

Ip y 'u have seen any one on whom a sudden great 
misfortune hath fallen, in the first transports of his 
grief and raging despair, trample the ground, tear 
his hair wildly, fling his clenched hands abroad, seek 
for some one on whom to revenge himself, and by a 
thousand violent actions give vent to the extremity 
of his passionate sorrow, you may have a picture of 
the conduct of these men and myself when this most 
woeful sight burst upon us. We ran about, up and 
down the rocks, stamping, yelling like madmen out 
of Bedlam — we glared at each other like wild beasts 
— and I hardly know why some of us did not fling 
ourselves down the sides of the mountain, in bitter 
grief, to die in the gullies below. 

Then, at times again we would pause, and look 
eagerly towards the ship, as fain to persuade our- 
selves that all was but a sailor’s je^t, intended mere- 
ly to frighten ua. Wd said to one another, even 


84 TRl ADYINTURBS Of OWEN ITANt, 

fiercely, and trying to believe what we said, that we 
fihould see the long-boat with her sail set, tacking 
back for us against the breeze, which now blew off 
shore. We roared out (for it was roaring indeed, 
as if what was said so loud must be true) that Hop- 
kins had played this trick on the priest and me, be- 
cause we had neither of us been so near the line be- 
fore. But all this dreadful suspense was ended when 
we saw the ship fill her sails, and stand away steadi- 
ly on her former course. When she veered, we saw 
a puff of smoke ; and then came the report of one ol 
her guns, fired wantonly by way of heaping insult 
on our wretchedness — which gave us to xmderstand 
all hope was over for us. At the same moment the 
yellow flag (called by seamen the rogue’s jack) was 
hoisted at the fore. At the sight of all this, the 
men broke out anew into such curses, ravings, and 
passionate laments, as were more fit for men trans- 
ported beside themselves, than for reasonable creat- 
ures, who should gather spirits and courage to make 
the best of a bad case. 

But reason was, at that time, the last thing to be 
found among us, and we did but add to each other’s 
grief — for when one, exhausted by his violence, 
would be silent for a while, another would take it up 
as though he had never lamented before — and thus 
set all off again by the contagion. So that I be- 
lieve there has seldom been shown a more lively im- 
age of the rage and despairing lamentations of those 
who are lost for ever, than in us five who then found 
ounkdves left on the island without hope. 

I say, us five ; for we had no thought of the priest 


THB CATHOLIC CKUSOB. 


S5 

all this while, nor leisure so much as to observe how 
he bore himself in our common misfortune. We 
knew what we had lost, and were fully occupied 
with that : as for him, we knew not, and cared not, 
either what he had lost, or what he possessed. He 
had been our companion in our ramble, and pleasant 
enough we had found him ; but when anything more 
than a mere pastime engaged us, we turned inward 
jn ourselves, or looked on each other only, thinking 
10 more about him than if he inhabited another 
world, or another island. 

At length, wearied as we were with our long 
march, and exhausted by all this raving, partly too 
by want of food, we sank into a kind of stupid and 
settled despair, casting ourselves down on the place 
where we stood. There would one seaman lie, bury- 
ing his face in his hands, weeping even like a child 
Another would sit and clasp his knees, and turn his 
face towards heaven, but without uttering a prayer. 
A third man, with his teeth set, and his features 
awry, more like a savage or a maniac, would watch 
the sails of the ship as they came between us and the 
setting sun — ^then shake his clenched hand at her 
while she glided away, muttering whatever the old 
serpent whispered into his ear. Heither can I boast 
that my angry passions were more under command 
than theirs, or much more, to signify ; yet reason 
sooner came to the rescue with me, and I saw the 
need of not giving way, but thinking for the rest. 
While I sat, and rested my head on my hand, I be- 
gan to cast about with myself what was best to ad- 
vise under our unhappy condition. After a while, 


36 


TH* ADVBNTURE8 OF OWEN ETAN8, 


chancing to turn my eyes aside, I noticed Don Man 
nel, some thirty paces from us, kneeling on the 
rock, with his hands clasped — and he was plainly 
deep in prayer. 

I watched him for some miuutes ; but he did not 
stir, nor indeed did he observe me at all. Then I 
rose, and went softly to him, touching him on the 
shoulder. As he looked up I could perceive traces 
of tears on his cheeks ; this, I now confess, was what 
first disposed me more kindly towards him, to see 
him grieve in our common misfortune, though he 
had taken it to heart in so different a way from the 
rest. 

“ Sir,” said I, with as much calmness as I could, 
“ it behoves us, in these unhappy affairs, to consult 
as well for ourselves as for those who are nearly be- 
side their wits with grief, or rage, whichever you 
will ; and, as night will soon come upon us, no time 
is to be lost in preparing (since needs we must) to 
bivouac upon this island.” 

He rose up at once, looked at me in a friendly 
way ; then, with the manner of a prince, yet quite 
simple and humble too, he motioned me to a seat 
beside him on the rock, and taking my hand with 
much kindness, said : 

“ Senor, we have all suffered a great misfortune 
together ; or rather let me say,” and he crossed him- 
self devoutly, “ we have been the objects of a great 
deliverance. Hothing of this has taken me entirely 
by surprise ; for I have, this while past, seen some- 
what to be wrong with the crew, and that they 
would soon be rid of some they had on board. So 


THE CATHOLIC CKU 80 B. 


37 


fre will give thanks to God, and hear our lot with 
equal mind. e are, indeed, ill provided even with 
things necessary to continue our lives on this place ; 
but, though I much desired to give you a hint be- 
fore leaving the ship, I could neither do that with- 
out being suspected by the captain, nor myself take 
anything away with me. True, I have little in this 
world but my cloak, and a few books, for which I 
confess I grieve ; yet 1 grieve more for you. But 
Providence has shielded us hitherto, and will shield 
us still. 

“ Courage,” then, said he, rising, and still holding 
my hand ; “ let us go to these poor men — let us try 
to console them, and make our preparations all to- 
gether.” 

So, stepping to the rest, he addressed them in a 
few simple words. He was sure, he said, as brave 
seamen they would bear up against their misfortune 
— that when a sailor leaves port he commits himself 
to wind and weather, and a thousand chances — he is 
never certain how long he will live, nor how die, nor 
whether buried on land or in the deep. But we had 
reason, he said, to be thankful to God that our lot 
was not a worse one. We might have been board- 
ed by pirates, massacred, or sold as slaves, pressed 
into harder service, or kidnapped for the plantations 
— the ship might have been burnt at sea, and we 
swamped iji the boats, or perishing of hunger. We 
might all have foundered together in deep water, or 
suffered shipwreck, and been cast by the fury of the 
waves on some inhospitable coast with nothing in 
our hands, a defenceless prey to cannibal savages. — 


58 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

It was the part of brave men, therefore, not to be 
cast down so long as a hope remained of repairing 
their fortunes — that the preservation of our lives was 
an instinct implanted in us by the Author of our 
being ; finally, that our business for the moment 
was, to establish ourselves in safety for the night on 
this island, and leave all further counsel for the 
morrow. 

In short, though I do not pretend he expressed 
himself in these terms with great readiness, seeing 
he was forced to translate his thoughts into our lan- 
guage ; yet he made^us so moving a little discourse, 
and so persuasive, partly from the argument, partly 
from his manner of delivering it, that it was plain to 
see the poor men were strengthened and encouraged 
by it to a great degree. And having so far suc- 
ceeded, he directed them to search in the thickets for 
the driest and fittest brushwood to kindle a fire. 
With the help of my hanger and the seamen’s clasp- 
knives, it was soon done as he advised ; and a space 
found on the rock that seemed like a natural hearth, 
hollowed by no hand of man into a kind of shallow 
basin. This we cleared of its earth and moss, and 
disposed our brushwood there for our bonfire. We 
laid aside another heap of brush, and a quantity of 
dry turf, which we pulled up in large clods from the 
soil, enough altogether to feed our fire through the 
few hours of dark. Then, by Don Manuel’s advice, 
each one looked carefully to the priming of his piece 
and freshened it, lest the powder might take injury 
by the night dews, and so render us defenceless 
against ary attack. For the same reason they were 


THE CATOOLIO ORUSOB. 


S9 


reminded to keep tke locks of their fowling-pieces 
carefully covered while they lay down to sleep. But 
Tom Harvey volunteered to keep watch over us all, 
and not to lie down through the night. I offered to 
share this duty with him, turn and turn about, in 
the manner of dog-watches on board ship ; but he 
said cheerfully, it should be my turn the next night, 
if I would ; that he had rather stay awake one night 
and have full rest another, than have broken rest for 
two in succession — which indeed is the hardest part 
of all sea-service. 

For beds we were at no loss — ^there was moss all 
about, and dry leaves in abundance, very fragrant — 
as was also the wood which we burned on the fire. 
Don Manuel stepped a little aside to finish his 
prayers, as I could well perceive by the fire-light — 
for now, the sun being down, the darkness of the 
tropics was upon us at once. But we, without any 
prayers at all, like ungrateful heathen wretches that 
we were, cast ourselves on these couches of leaves, 
with our feet to the fire, and so all was still. 


CHAPTER VI. 

NIGHT AND MORNING. 

Whether the rest slept that first night of our ex- 
Ue, I scarce knew at the time ; only that all was 
quiet, and Harvey with his gun going to and fro, 
near to om' fire, feeding the blaze from time to time 
with fresh armfuls of the dry brushwood that he had 


40 THIS ADVENTURIS OF 5WEN EVANS, 

/ 

drawn together in a heap. This, I felt sure, would 
keep off any wild animals that might be prowling in 
our neighborhood — it being well known by all hunt- 
ers, and such as camp in the woods, that even the 
fiercest tigers of the Indian jungles, unless they are 
pressed by great hunger, will not so much as ap- 
proach a fire by night. 

Being made easy on that point, and on that only, 
I fell to considering our unhappy deserted lot, which 
did little improve for being thought upon. For 
though ’tis true, no one of us was cast ashore alone 
and solitary, as Selkirk* and some others have been, 
yet the benefit of mutual society could not outweigh 
the destitute state we were in, unprovided with any- 
thing but our fire-arms only. “ llow,” I reflected 
“ shall we build, or plant here ? how even burrow 
dwellings for ourselves in the earth or the rocks, like 

* Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish seaman, owing to some 
disagreement with his captain, was left ashore in 1704 on 
the island of Jaan Fernandez, off the coast of Chili. He 
had nothing with him but his clothes, bedding, a gun, and a 
small quanity of powder and ball ; a hatchet, knife, and ket- 
tle ; his books, and mathematical and nautical instruments. 
In this solitude he remained four years and four months; 
employing his time in chasing and taming the wild goats of 
the island. He constantly kept a guard of tame cats about 
1dm, to defend him from the rats, with which the place was 
infested. He was at length taken off by a vessel from Bris- 
tol, and arrived in England by a circuitous route in 1711. 
The enemies of Defoe, llu' author of Robinson Crusoe, accus- 
ed that writer of having pirated many of the details of Sel- 
kirk’s life from papers left by the latter in his hands. It is 
undeniable that Defoe, like Shakspeare, founded his wonder- 
ful fiction upon facts, which already stood recorded. Yet a 
perusal of the narrative of Captain Rogers, who took Selkirk 
off the island, brief and comparatively meagre as it is, forms 
the best proof how little Defoe was indebted to any actual 
occurrence, or the charm, or more than the first idea, of his 
itory. — Ed. 


TH* CATHOLIC CKUSOK. 


41 


some savage tiibes ? How shall we so much as cut 
down a tree, or smooth a plank, or snare the birds 
and animals of the island, or tame them ? By what 
means can we supply ourselves with clothes, or de- 
fend our lives against the violent monsoons and rainy 
seasons of the tropics ? And, when our small stock 
of powder is once spent in coming at our daily neces- 
sary food, with what contrivances are we to purvey 
to ourselves a means of living from that time on- 
ward ?” 

To these questions I found no comfortable answer 
m my thoughts ; and, as if I had turned Job’s com 
forter against myself, I went on further to consider 
thus: “You are,” said I, addressing myself, “sur- 
rounded by companions in misfortune, who have all 
one common interest with your own ; to wit, mutual 
assistance and kindliness in bettering their sad con- 
dition. But who shall warrant that they will view 
it thus ? For men, in the very blindness of a selfish 
df^sire to have their way, are prone to run counter 
every day to their true interest and that of others 
with them. Or, if things begin well, yet with such 
rude materials as are to hand, how long will they 
continue so ? And what authority can you estab- 
lish among them, for the benefit of each and all ?” 

In a word, after tormenting my thoughts, as 
many another has done, with the prospect of future 
ills, and inventing a multitude of possible and 
imaginary ones, as, attacks from cannibal savages 
and wild beasts, poison from venomous reptiles or 
unknown, noxious herbs, and I know not what 
other forebodings of harm, I yielded to weariness 


42 


THE ADTENTURBS OF OWEN KTANS. 


like the rest, and fell asleep till morning. One 
thing I did not forget ; that was, to wind up my 
watch, as I knew mine to be the only time-piece in 
our whole colony. “ Yet what matters time to us,” 
I asked myself, my gloomy thoughts coining back 
again, “ now that we are commencing the life ot 
savages here ? It will be enough for us to see the 
sun rise and set, to know another day is added to 
our misery. And for the seasons, we shall feel 
when it is warm and cold, and when it is wet or 
dry, until we feel nothing further.” Thinking in 
this way, I did indeed know nothing further, till I 
was awoke by the sun through the trees, and the 
screaming of the parrots over my head. 

’T was a wonder I had not awoke before this ; for 
two guns had been fired, and with some success, to 
procure us our first breakfast on the island. One 
of these was Harvey’s piece, and the other Gill’s. 
When I shook off my sleep, and came to where 
they sat round the fire, I found they had brought in 
some game : for Tom had shot (at least wounded 
and then secured by some hard running) a young 
peccary, such as we had seen the day before ; and 
Harry Gill had brought down a bird like a bustard, 
that he had sprung in a piece of marshy ground some 
quarter of a mile from our encampment. 

Though I considered it imprudent in a high degree 
to let off fire-arms when we knew so little of the is- 
land, still, the thing being done, and so much remain- 
ing to be settled when breakfast was over, I said 
nothing to it, but bade them good morning as cheer- 
fully as I could, and set to work to help in cooking 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOI. 


4t 

mxr meat. Here was indeed a difficulty for us ; for 
though several of our number (like most practised 
seamen) were tolerable cooks, as far as a plain boil 
or stew on board ship went, yet what will the best 
50ok do, when he has nothing but his meat and his 
fire to work with ? Here were we, with no sign of a 
kettle, or pan, not so much as a dripping ladle to 
prevent our meat burning at the fire ; plenty of mat- 
erial, but no way of making it useful to us. And 
though the proverb says, too many cooks spoil the 
broth, I believe there have been seldom collected so 
many cooks together, with so little chance of having 
any broth among them. 

There was abundant proof of the difierence in 
men’s characters as we all stood around the fire, and 
iooked at the game we could find no means to dress. 
Some grumbled and swore, some laughed at their 
own perplexity, some set about devising first one 
thing, then another. Prodgers was chief among the 
surly ones, as Tom Harvey among the jokers. As 
to Hilton, being (as I said) one of those who take 
their cue from others, he now swore with Prodgers, 
and then laughed with honest Tom. However, for 
want of better, we cut us some sharp straight reeds 
from a thicket, of a kind of bamboo, to serve for spits ; 
we skinned the animal and plucked our bustard, then 
spitted them, and prepared to roast. 

But who should come to our help, and show us a 
better way ? The last person, except a wild Indian, 
we could have guessed at. Don Manuel had been, 
up to this, walking slowly to and fro, at a little dia- 
tanoe from us, reading his book, as usual. He now 


14 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

drew near ; and in his cheerful, courteous way : “ A 
fair morning to you,” says he, “ Senores and brothers 
in misfortune : let me try and contribute my small 
efforts for our common good.” Then he explained, 
that he had heard of some natives of such islands as 
abound in hogs and goats, who had an ingenious 
way of cooking, or baking their meat. They make, 
says he, a hole in the earth, line it with stones red 
hot from the fire, to serve as a rude oven ; then pul 
in the meat, covering it carefully with several layers 
of broad leaves, and overlay the whole with earth 
and stones. “ So now, if you will,” continued he, 
^ we will take a hint from the savages, until we find 
out some better method for ourselves.” 

We thanked him heartily, and with some surprise, 
at discovering that he knew anything about such 
matters. But he said, Tvath a snule, a priest who 
left his own country upon foreign missions was ob- 
4ged to be 

Soldier or sailor. 

Joiner or tailor. 

Gentlemen, apothecary, 

Ploughboy, and all I 

Where he had picked up those odd lines I know 
not ; but I know his cheerful, friendly manner did 
more to comfort us under our hard lot, and put us 
in good humor with ourselves and each other, than 
anything else at that moment could have done. Every 
one began to feel a sort of trust, as it were, in follow- 
ing his directions ; and the prospect of a good meal 
quickened our motions. So, having understood his 
plan, we bustled about to follow it. Some went ia 


THE CATHOLIC CRI3801, 


46 


Bearch of stones of the proper size and shape to heat 
in the fire ; and these were put into the hottest of the 
flame. Others got a heap of dry brushwood to fresh- 
en the fire itself, which soon blazed out more fiercely 
than we could well stand to. One went in search of 
leaves to lay upon the meat when the hot stones were 
ready to put round it ; a fourth cut a sharp stake or 
two from the thicket, to make shift for spades. With 
these we turned up enough of earth to bank over our 
oven. All being now ready, we waited a short time 
till Don Manuel, who directed the whole, told us that 
the fire had heated the earth and stones to the right 
pitch, and that we might clear away the embers to 
build our oven on the rock. 


CHAPTER YH. 

THE FIRST MEAL, AND THE FIRST PARLIAMEHT. 

“See, gentlemen,” said the priest, pointing with his 
hand to a high tree that grew perhaps two hundred 
and fifty yards from our fire ; “ see if a merciful Provi- 
dence hath not sent us bread as well as meat for our 
food ! Truly, we should be doubly ungrateful not 
to thank Him with all our hearts.” The men looked 
at him with wonder, doubting what he spoke of. On- 
ly, sure were they, from his manner, that he was not 
jesting now. “ I am much mistaken,” added Don 
Manuel, turning to me, “ if yonder be not one of the 


46 


THE ADTBNTUKVS OF OWEN ETAN8, 


bread-fruit trees we have read of ; and the first,” ad- 
ded he in his cheerful way, “ who brings us some of 
the fruit, will be a herald of good news to our col- 
ony.” 

No sooner said than done : Harvey started oflT, and 
Hilton with him, after this new bread ; while we 
stood cheering them with our voices, and clapping 
of hands. They reached the tree nearly together, 
and began shaking it, one on either side, to make the 
fruit fall into their hands. But the trunk was too stout 
for that, so they did but lose their labor ; and the 
fruit itself, which grew in a kind of large apple, or 
gourd, the size of a good penny loaf, was so high out 
of their reach that, do what they would, there was 
no getting at it, no, not by jumping their best. “ I 
see,” said Don Manuel, “ I must be baker’s man as 
well as cook ;” and he moved towards them with his 
long stafiT. But Harry Gill was now beforehand with 
him ; for, seizing the hand-spike, he made oflT at the 
top of his speed, and before the other two could pick 
ofiT a single apple with stones, he had brought half a 
dozen of them to the ground. 

Don Manuel met them half way. “ It is indeed the 
bread fruit tree !” exclaimed he, when he had ex- 
amined the fruit. “ Give thanks, my friends, for a 
great boon from heaven ; as I doubt not you have 
given thanks for your deliverance out of the ship. 
If this be not a solitary tree, which is very unlikely, 
and if it be the kind that will grow from slips or cut- 
tings, we shall have enough of excellent bread, and 
to spare. So, let us first pay our tribute to the great 
Giver.” 


THB CATAOLIC CRUSOB. 


47 


Seeing that none of us stirred or assented (1 am 
ashamed to record it against ourselves), he then sol- 
emnly took off his hat, laid it at his feet, and raising 
up one of the fruits in either hand, uttered, with a 
loud, clear voice, something in Latin, which, though 
I was not used to his mode of pronouncing that 
tongue, I took to be a short fonn of praise. Having 
spoken this with his eyes raised to heaven, he kissed 
the fruit, as though he had received it straight from 
thence : then, turning to us, he said ; “ And now, Se- 
nores, it is time to look after our breakfasts.” 

I know not by what magic this man seemed at 
once to have gained such an ascendant over our 
minds. Every one went hither and thither, and just 
did this or that, because he so recommended it ; yet 
there was nothing of authority in his words, which 
indeed would at that time have revolted our wills 
against him : but all was quiet and gentle, in the ex* 
ti’eme. But I greatly believe, this influence he had 
upon us arose from our perceiving him to have no 
ends of his own to serve in what he proposed to be 
done ; also because he was willing cheerfully to bear 
his part in every fatigue and inconvenience that af- 
fected us : iu which disposition none came up to him, 
except only Tom Harvey ; this we felt the more, as 
time went on and we were better acquainted. 

But to return to our breakfast, or preparing for it ; 
Don Manuel, to our great satisfaction, promised us 
some excellent toasted bread with our pork: and, 
though the men scarce knew how this was to be pur 
veyed, having never seen or heard of the bread-fruit 
before, they put such trust in what he promised as t4 


48 THB ADVENTURRS Of OWEN EVANS, 

believe it would, somehow, be as he said. So, by his 
directions, the hollow slab of rock, where we had 
kindled our fire over-night, was now swept clear of 
the burning wood ; and the stones, which, by this, 
were red-hot, ranged around by the help of our gun- 
barrels and sticks, so that an open space was lefl, 
large enough to hold the game we had killed. When 
we had placed our peccary and bustard on this heat- 
ed rock, and surrounded them with the stones, where- 
on we likewise placed our bread-fi'uits in slices to 
bake, by and by such a savory smell arose, as tempt- 
ed us to fall-to without waiting further cookery. 

Prodgers, in particular, who was the most self- 
willed, or the hungriest among us, began to insist on 
having his share at once. But he was out-voted by 
the rest ; and we covered the meat quickly with the 
palms and plantain leaves we had gathered ; over 
these, again, we laid other stones, and made all tight 
by strewing on the top a layer or two of earth and 
rocky sand. 

“A short half-hour, gentlemen,” then said Don 
Manuel, “ will complete our arrangements : and I pro- 
pose that in the meantime, we make an expedition to 
the rocks on shore, to see after a few dishes and 
spoons.” 

We looked again at one another, doubtful what he 
could mean ; but he soon explained, that as we came 
along the rocks the day before, at that part of our 
island where we first landed, he had noted a bed ol 
largish oysters that lay within reach of any active 
cliflTs-man among us. The shells of these, he said, at 
least the larger ones, would supply our table (onr 


THB CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 


49 


rock rather) with a rude kind of crockery-ware, till we 
had learned to furnish ourselves better in some other 
way. “ So, my friends,” .added he, “ the fish and the 
dish, you see, are sent to us together ; and both 
from One Hand then he looked upward and smiled 
cheerfully. This man seemed to have his thoughts 
continually upon God ; on whom our thoughts were, 
1 may say, never. But it was out of the abundance 
of his heart that he was speaking in this way ; for no- 
thing was further from him than any attempt to 
preach to us, though he seemed to look to us for some 
correspondence with his grateful feelings ; and not 
finding it, he went on all the same, to himself, as it 
were, in his expressions of thankfulness and trust. 

With all our hardness of heart, at least we felt 
cheered about the oyster beds he spoke of ; to find, 
on our first settlement, these new possessions of ours 
were likely to be so well stocked with wholesome 
fish as to place us beyond present want. But before 
we started that way, or sent any of our party on the 
errand, we reckoned that, take what short cut we 
might to the place, we should only get back to find 
our meat and bread-fruits burned to a cinder. So 
giving up that enterprise for the present, we pre- 
pared to take our meat with sticks, as the Chinaman 
will pick up a grain of rice with two chop-sticks in- 
stead of a fork or spoon. We took the lid ofiT our 
oven, and found everything done passably well, 
for a party of famished sailors who were not over 
nice. But Don Manuel, after saying grace, which 
he never omitted at any meal we partook of w^tli 
him, V)]d us pleasantly, had we been less hungry oi 


60 Til* ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

more patient, our feast on taking possession of 
the country would have been worthier the occa- 
sion. 

This whole time, I was turning in my thoughts 
how I should address our party on some things 
very needful to be said. If some order and rules 
were not established amongst us from the first, then, 
I saw clearly, we should lie exposed to the unre- 
strained violence of several wills here present, that 
boded us no good. I had now seen enough of Don 
Manuel to feel a confidence in consulting him ; but I 
lacked opportunity, for the thing had to be done at 
once and before our first joint act was undertaken, 
whatever that might be. Hastily gathering my 
thoughts into the best shape I could, while we were 
all employed in cutting up our game with hanger 
and knives, and helpmg ourselves to the slices with 
bamboo-sticks and fingers, I ran over in my mind 
the characters I had to deal with, and what I would 
have them lend a hearing to. When our meal was 
ended (and they, poor fellows, were in no hurry 
about it), feeling that if ever they would be disposed 
to listen, it was likely to be now, I begged their at- 
tention for a few minutes. 

So, getting upon a little ledge of rock which offer- 
ed a natural platform to speak from, I delivered my- 
self as follows : “ Friends,” said I, “ as we are so 
strangely cast into society with each other, and that 
for such a time as we cannot foresee its ei d, yon have 
to consider, in the first place, whether you will re* 
main in community, or separate in different quarters 
ef the place whore we are, and live alone and inde 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOIS. 


51 


pendent. For my part, I am ready to adopt ivliich- 
ever plan may seem good to the greater number ol 
U8 ; and I call upon you to decide.” 

Here they broke in a^ once, and cried out each for 
himself, that to disperse over the island was a thing 
not to be thought on. We shall be devoured, said 
they, by wild beasts, if any are here : we shall fall 
singly and defenceless into the hands of savages who 
may inhabit the place, or visit it in their canoes. 
Then, to live alone, they declared, was a savage, un- 
natural state of existence ; they would become bar- 
barians, little better than the wild animals themselves, 
who still, for the most part, go in herd. In short, never 
was anything so concluded as that, come what would, 
we must still consort together. 

“ Well, friends,” I continued, “that is my own 
wish, too. I would put both before you, and I think 
you have now decided right. But then, see what 
follows upon this. If we live together, we must 
have some kind of government established among 
us.” 

When I announced that, which I did with a reso 
lute manner and voice, I observed some change in 
the countenances of a few among our small number. 
They had no idea, it seems, of living by any law but 
their own wills; they imagined, to talk of govern 
ment was to introduce tyranny into our little society, 
even in its infant days. Richard Prodgers at once 
showed himself displeased by a surly look ; swaying 
to and fro with a dissatisfied air, he was going to break 
m, when I went on ; 

“ Nay,” said I, giving the thing a jesting turn to 


52 'fHE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

persuade them the more heartily, “ do not suppose 
lhat any one is going to set up for a king here. We 
will have no standing army to drain our pockets — 
for we are all, indeed, the militia volunteers of the 
place, ready to turn out at a moment’s notice, and 
fight our enemies without pay. We will have no 
taxes levied throughout the whole island ; and if the 
tax-gatherer do but dare show his face, we’ll warn 
him off the premises in a twinkling. Our friend 
Don Manuel here,” and I made the priest a little 
side bow as I spoke, “ will collect no tithes but with 
our own free will. And I hope, even, we shall do 
without police, or summonses, or quarter-sessions ; 
no lawyers, no big- wigs, no juries, no prisoners at 
the bar, no treadmill, not a yellow jacket to be seen 
amongst us, nor a workhouse, nor anything in that 
way.” 

At this, they could not but laugh, do what they 
would — even Prodgers was forced to it with the 
rest. And having secured their good will, I ex- 
plained that the kind of government I spoke of, was 
only that each should bind himself to conform to 
some plain, simple regulations for his own good and 
that of all ; and that one of us should be appointed 
by general vote to see them carried out. When 
they heard this they were well content, and after 
some discussing among themselves, they voted that 
I should tell them how such rules ought to be 
framed. 

“ First, then,” I continued, “ we may look upon 
ourse.ves as the lords and masters of this w'hole 
place, for aught that appears to the contrary. If it 


THE CATHOLIC CRCBOB. 


58 


prove so, we can portion out to each man a certain 
measure of land to be chosen by lot, and e\ ery one 
must then engage to help his neighbors build some- 
thing of a hut, and afterwards dwell at peace with 
them, in mutual service and good will. But, before 
all things else, we must needs set about to discover 
whether there be any other inhabitants in this little 
kingdom of ours : wherefore let us bind ourselves to 
stand by one another to the last, and join in an ex- 
ploring party to search the island.” 

This proposal was much to their mind, and they 
would have set about the thing at once. But I was 
desirous, while they were in so favorable humor, to 
impress on them some points needful to us all ; so 
begging them to wait yet a moment, I then laid be- 
fore them the necessity of attending to the following 
particulars : 

1. That we had no real government as yet ; and 
hoped to do without so much as naming punishment, 
which would be little else than the ruin of our small 
society, and set every man’s hand against his broth- 
er ; and it was therefore of exceeding need that each 
one should keep guard over himself, his temper and 
his words, to avoid all occasion of offence. 

2. That whatever we possessed, which after all 
was little enough, should be looked on from the first 
as common property ; to be distributed, or used by 
ijach for the good of society as well as his own ; 
namely, the three fowling pieces we had brought with 
us from the ship, together with the ammunition ; our 
clasp-knives, the jars for water, and all our small store 
of rope-twine. To give an example, I threw my rifle 


64 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

and hanger into the common stock. Later, I said, 
when we had gained some experience of what turn 
things would take, we could portion out difiereni 
offices according to each one’s capacity. But mean- 
while, as every man was to be moderate in his de- 
mands, so no one was to be refused any reasonable 
use of this our common property. 

At any other time, I could have smiled at making 
so much of a common seaman’s clasp-knife, ' and an 
earthen pitcher. But the circumstances we are placed 
in, quite alter our value of things : and we were now 
in a state of life much like that of the sa /ages, who 
will give away their gold dust, their ostrich-feathers 
and pearls, or whatever has most price in the Euro- 
pean markets, for a knife, or even an old hoop of iron, 
or a few nails. 

They all readily agreed to these proposals : indeed 
the thing w^as reasonable, and to the advantage of 
all ; let them be as self-willed as they might, they 
could scarce do otherwise. I was content with this 
beginning; but I foresaw what difficulties would 
arise if I set about to control and keep together such 
rude spirits, who were only in order under the cap- 
tain’s eye, and with the fear of the lash before them ; 
and who on shore were accustomed to do as they 
pleased. “Well,” said I in my own mind, though 
with not much spirit of religion about me, “ the mor- 
row shall take care for the things of itself ; and w« 
will live for the day.” 

Noth. — Some difficulties occur iu determining the situation 
of Evans’ island. Newhaven is mentioned as the port whenca 
the Mnterprm was to sail for her rendezvous in the tropics ; 
er his place of exile might have been among, or not far fiom. 


THE OATHOLIO OBUSOl. 


65 


those islands of volcanic and coralline formation which are 
grouped in the South Pacific. It becomes further probable 
that he speaks of Newhaven in the State of Connecticut, if we 
consider that the crew of Hopkins’ vessel numbered JSiew- 
foundland&rs among the rest. Against this, however, may be 
urged, that Malays and Portuguese are mentioned as part of 
the crew. But seamen from Malacca, whose character as 
roving pirates was well known, might be found at any fre- 
quented port, ready to engage in such an adventure ; and 
might be joined by characters equally unsettled from among 
the extensive Portuguese colonies. 

Moreover, the vessel was “ well within the tropics and 
coming from a colder latitude, we are told, the crew had not 
touched land before. The northern tropic, or tropic of Can- 
cer, is here referred to. But how to suppose that this island 
should have remained undiscovered till 1739, if it lay within 
an ocean continually traversed by vessels from such maritime 
states as England, Holland, Spain and Portugal ? Two con- 
siderations will afford a partial answer. 

(1) We may overrate the then extent of such discoveries, 
by regarding them in the light of our own geographical 
knowledge. In England, and probably in Holland and the 
Peninsula, the discovery of Aim rica rather gave an impulse 
to the colonization of that continent itself than to enterprise.^ 
of intermediate research. The date of Evans’ narrative is 
nearly thirty years before Cook’s first voyage, the primary 
object of which was astronomical : and though in the reign 
of George II., two important voyages had been made, they 
were for the definite purpose of discovering the north-west 
passage. The expedition of Anson, the year after that of our 
author’s misadventure, was an enterprise against the Span- 
iards in the South Seas, though it resulted in important dis- 
coveries. In short, new continents, or new ways to old ones, 
rather than researches among islands and archipelagoes, 
formed the objects of such expeditions as had preceded the 
date of this narrative. 

(2) The discovery of islands in a wide ocean has been very 
much the result of circumstance, often of mere accident. 
Thus, the island of Maderia, notwithstanding the height of 
its volcanic peak, and its favorable position for discovery, 
remained unknown (if w^e except one account which reads 
like fiction), till a vessel, driven, if I rememl^r, out of her 
course, approached the veil of mist in which it bad lain per 
petually concealed. If we suppose Evans’ Island to lie on 
Jome less direct route from Euroi)e to the New World ; say 
at any given point between the Cape de Verd Islands and 
Guiana or the Brazils, there is no great improbability in its 
Training undiscovered till 1739 . — Ed. 


6t 


THE ABTSNXUBES Of OWEN EVANS. 


CHAPTER VIIL 

A DISAPPOINTMENT AND A DANGEB. 

OuB expedition being now formed, we proceeded 
much in the same order we had observed before ; and 
began to round the shoulder of the mountain by de- 
grees, still ascending higher as we went : so that our 
course took the shape of a spiral curve, bending up- 
wards, to the north-east of the island. This we did 
to gain a bird’s-eye view of the other side, both over 
land and sea ; to mark what was the nature of the 
place itself, for soil and produce, and whether inhabi- 
ted, as I partly feared, or desert. Also, our purpose 
was to certify ourselves what hopes we might enter- 
tain of deliverance from that easterly quarter of our 
prison, by a chain of communication with some land 
further off. For I nourished within myself a lurking 
hope, that perhance this same growth of coral rock 
that increased our difficulty in landing, would serve 
to help us off again on the further side. Could we 
but make shift to put together a raft of branches, no 
matter how rude, if only not too hazardous, then we 
might, I considered, provision ourselves for a short 
voyage, and drift from island to island, or from rock 
to rock (the currents being supposed favorable, or 
some contrivance made to stand in place of a sail), 

t3.!l but here I stayed in my thoughts, not finding 

a way to conclude this plan with any satisfaction 
And certainly, I would not breathe it to my compao 


llHB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 57 

ions, fearing I might raise hopes only to have them 
dashed again by the event. 

As for the side of the island we were leaving, we 
had suffered so much misery there as quite made us 
mislike the very look of it. For outward tilings, we 
know, take their color from the hue and disposition 
of our minds, so as to appear bright or gloomy ac- 
cording to the mood in which we view them. And 
now, this part of the island, which in trutli was fair 
enough in itself, for its variety of landscape, appeared 
so odious to us that we seemed to breathe all the 
freer as we quitted it. Every stej) we took led us 
away to a new scene ; and as the life of a seamen is 
a changeful one, and little secure from disaster day 
by day, so these men now seemed almost to forget 
their past misfortunes, being as much taken up wiih 
our exploring as though it had, indeed, been the 
party of pleasure on which we came from the ship the 
day before. 

When we got higher on the mountain, a beautiful 
sight did truly unfold itself to us ; for then the ex- 
tent of the island appeared by degrees, until we 
could see it spread out before us plainly, as a colored 
chart might be on canvas. So far as could be meas- 
ured by the eye, we judged it ab ut two leagues 
m length, reckoning from the mountain southward ; 
and in breadth, where that was greatest, something 
over a full league. The sides ran pretty even one 
with the other, only tapering towards a point as they 
drew near to the southern end. But I must not 
omit, that the shore on either side was much broken 
by reefs of the coral rocks^ which we had already 


58 TH* ADVXNTUEBS OF OWEN EVANS, 

gained some experience of on the western side, and 
which now we saw prevailed yet more to the east ; 
so that the whole of that coast was broken up into 
shoals, siin’ounding that part of the island with fringes 
of rock, over which the surf beats with so great vio- 
lence, that I was sure no boat that man ever built could 
live through it. 

Here, then, I saw the downfall of my cherished 
plan of deliverance, unless the north-east part of our 
mountain should give a more encouraging prospect 
when we got thither. But at the same time, these 
walls of rocks were the best safeguard we could de- 
sire against the landing of savages on our island ; for 
they formed such a natural rampart, and so formid- 
able, that not the boldest, though they might be skil- 
ful in managing their canoes, would attempt it. And 
thus, as often is to be found in this chequered life, 
disappointment and comfort met us hand in hand. 

We had now travelled round three sides of the 
mountain, or thereabout ; yet no sign appeared of 
any other island or continent neighboring our own. 
And this view was made complete when we 
rounded so far as to see to the east-north-east ; 
further than that we needed not to go, for the 
rest we had already viewed from the ship. All ap- 
peared open sea, with only here and there a table- 
land of rocks, some not ten yards across, lying out- 
side the fringe of our protecting reefs : at least this 
was as much as the haze or sea vapor drawn up by 
the heat, the sun being now very powerful, allowed 
as to discover. 

The heat was by this time become so intolerabls 


THK CATHOLIC CBUSOI. 


59 


oyer head, and indeed under our feet besides, by 
reason of the sun strilcing on the bare rock, for we 
were now got above the region of trees, quite to the 
upper portion of our mountain ; the heat, I say, now 
forced us to seek shelter for ourselves, so that with 
one accord we plunged down the descent into the 
woods, not following the course by which we came 
up, but in a straight line making towards the length 
of the island, as though we were bent on reaching 
that point to the south which we had viewed from 
the height above. 

Added to this inconvenience of the heat, was an- 
other which we had not foreseen ; for we found these 
parched rocks swarming with reptiles, particularly 
scorpions, and a large kind of centipede, or what 
they call in the West Indies the “ forty-legs;” some 
of these last we saw, grown to be seven or eight 
inches long, and running about the loose stones — so 
that we feared to sit anywhere to rest ourselves, 
knowing them to be well-nigh as venomous as the 
scorpions. Some serpents also we heard, hissing at 
us as we approached, though we did not discover 
them ; and altogether we hastened to get out of so 
unwelcome a neighborhood, though in truth we 
knew not what might meet us of that kind where 
we were going. 

But as we went down, an accident befel us that 
had near enough taken off one of our number by a 
sudden death. This happened as follows: — when 
we had left the upper, bare part of that mountain of 
ours, and came once more among the trees, we no- 
ticed the leaves and stems of some of them tmg«4 


60 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

with a yellowish dust, having the smell and taste of 
brimstone. Any one in his senses surely would have 
been made cautious by this unwholesome appearance : 
but I know not how it was, Don Manuel and I, who 
had most knowledge on such matters, were occupied, 
I suppose, each with his own sad thoughts : and 
mine (1 well remember) were running on the disap- 
pointment I had received from our look-out, at find- 
ing no way of escape, nor opening to devise any. So 
when Harry Gill, who had got ahead of us, called 
out that he had found a cave in the woods, we thought 
not of bidding him beware how he ventured his nead 
into the lion’s den, as (in one way) it proved to be. 

This cave of his was no great things for size ; but 
rather a kind of crack or fissure in the rocks, and 
overhung by several sorts of wild plants, all powder- 
ed with this brimstone dust. These hung so low 
down over its mouth, that he was obliged to creep 
on all fours to get even a little way in : and it was 
well for him he did not go in further. 

When I caught sight of what he was about, and 
that Hilton was preparing to follow him so soon as 
he should be fairly within the cavern, I called to them 
both to beware of some wild beast that might be lur- 
king in this den ; “ and be sure,” added I, “ you keep 
your guns before you, ready for action.” But al- 
most before I had said it, and while Gill was about 
half crept in, we noticed him drop on his face, like 
one who is taken on a sudden with the falling sick- 
ness, or an apoplexy. Then we rushed forward, and 
pulled him out with main force by the lieels, not 
without scraping his face and hands somewhat 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 61 

roughly against the rocky bed of his new- discovered 
cave. 

No sooner had we got him fairly out, than I at 
once perceived he had been poisoned by some noi- 
some vapor exhaling from the earth : for his face was 
of a leaden color, his eyes stark staring open, and he 
foaming at the mouth, but quite insensible. There 
being no water at hand to dash into his face, which 
would have brought him round more readily, we 
did the best by waving our hats before him, to give 
him air ; and I took out my lancets (from which I 
parted no more than our priest from his Breviary) to 
breathe a vein. But this he soon needed not ; for as 
we were all busied about him, some unloosing his 
neck-kerchief, some fanning him, some clapping the 
palms of his cold hands, or striking the soles of his 
feet as if he were undergoing the bastinado, we had 
the satisfaction to see him slowly recover his senses. 

Soon after, he was able to sit up • and Prodgers, 
having (as we then found for the first time) smug- 
gled a small bottle of rum from the ship, now relaxed 
so far from the selfishness of his nature as to ofter 
poor Gill a dram of it. But when the rest saw this 
unlooked-for bottle, they all cried out, “ A prize ! a 
prize !” and began to insist it should be equally divi- 
ded among them, agreeably to the understanding we 
came to before starting on this our expedition. Prod- 
gers, on his part, was not the man to yield up any- 
thing that belonged to him just because others wished 
it; and, between half jest on their part, and whole 
earnest on his, words soon began to run high amongst 
Ibem. 


62 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BTANg, 


1 saw the danger in our society of any quarrel on 
what had afforded the pretext for many such since 
the flood ; I mean drink. So, stepping at once be- 
tween them, and parting them by force, wherein I 
was helped, through with greater moderation, by 
Don Manuel, I cried out with some heat : 

“ What, my friends ? and will you wrangle for a 
vile pint of liquor over the half dead body of your 
comrade ?” 

This seemed to bring them a little to themselves ; 
and Harry Gill being now pretty well recovered from 
his fit, or swoon, they were eager to ask him how it 
had taken him, and what he thought it was owing 
to. As for me, I saw at once that the low cave he 
had thrust his head into, had oppressed him with 
some heavy, creeping vapor, that from its weight 
could not rise high ; like that grotto near the city of 
Naples, which suffocates a dog when it goes into the 
cavern, while a man standing at his natural height 
escapes the choke of the noxious gas. And this was 
confirmed by the account which Harry himself gave us 
of his misadventure. 

“ I wanted to discover,” said he, “ where this hole 
m the ground led to ; partly for a mere freak, and al- 
so methought I might be the first to invent something 
of a fortress or habitation for ourselves. So without 
any other concern, I began to creep in ; though there 
came such a whifif of brimstone hot smoke into my 
nose and mouth as well-nigh slifled me on the instant. 
I resolved to go on, thinking I should soon be past 
the crack from which it was coming up ; but I haa 
not crawled three paces when I found my head swim 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOE. 


68 


round on a sudden ; and than I remember nothing 
more till I found myself lying thus with all of you 
round me, and Richard here, (hearty thanks to him,) 
washing down the brimstone with a mouthful of 
grog.” 

Well, we thought ourselves happily rid of the busi- 
ness as it turned out; and, forasmuch as we poor 
mortals (this is a reflection I borrowed from Don 
Manuel, who made it in his own quiet and natural 
way when the danger was over) never know what 
value to put on our advantages, until they are like 
to be taken from us, so was it now. For if Gill had 
died there in that sulphurous hole, as he surely would 
by running on before us further, and our not missing 
him till too late, our party had been weakened both 
for mutual assistance and defence. I had a thought 
in my mind (but checked it) that another of our num- 
ber might have been better spared. And yet poor 
Richard had shown signs of something better than 
usual : and altogether, I reflected, there are few per- 
sons who possess not a better side to their character 
as well as a worse, if only we will cultivate them as 
we would stubborn ground, and bring out those good 
qualities to ripeness. 


84 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVAlfjIs 


CHAPTER IX. 

DINNER, AND A BATTLE AFTER IT. 

The whole of this put me on considering further 
the nature of the island we were upon : and I conclu- 
ded with Don Manuel, as after experience more fully 
showed, that the entire island had been thrown up 
from the sea by fires from beneath; except what 
might have been added by the industrious coral in- 
sects in the course of ages. Hot the mountain alone, 
I felt sure, but the plain country, was composed of 
lava rock, only covered by the depths of its rich sod. 
’Twas not in the way of speculation that I followed 
out this ; but for a practical end, and one that touched 
on our own security. For, as all countries that were 
first formed by volcanoes, are ever liable to eruptions 
of fire, earthquakes, devastations of hot springs, ef- 
fluvia of fatal gases, and other such causes of disturb- 
ance, it was well we should prepare ourselves for 
what we were to expect in that way, and what to 
avoid. 

So this accident to poor Harry, when the effects of 
it were over (and he soon plucked up spirits again 
to join us as if nothing had chanced,) might be looked 
on as a wholesome warning, that we were in a place 
where nothing was to be ventured hap-hazard, or be- 
yond what we understood. 

As we continued our march, “ See, my dear friends,” 
said the priest, “ how near we are to peril, and some- 
times to death, when we least think of it Here was 


THB CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 


65 


our friend Geile (so he pronounced it, and made ua 
all smile, and some of the men laugh outright at his 
way of talking English,) was a stroug sailor a quar- 
ter of an hour ago, and now see ” 

“ He’s as weak as a cat,” repliM poor Harry, and 
indeed so he looked. 

At this, we “ shortened sail for him,” as Ned Hil- 
ton expressed it, and what with one thing and ano- 
ther, we all came to the conclusion that we had 
earned a halt under the shade of the trees which 
now branched thick over our heads. The heat was 
indeed excessive, and we were glad of a breathing- 
time. For though on board ship the thermometer 
had stood at nearly the same point, (and I reckoned 
we were at least ninety degrees in the shade), yet 
the breeze that played over the sea, on and off, hin- 
dered the actual heat from oppressing the spirits as 
it did in the thickness of these our island coverts. 

For, putting all things together, the priest and I 
concluded, though we had not an instrument for ta- 
king an observation, nor could so much as determine 
the points of the compass further than in general — 
yet by what had dropped from the captain and mate 
for a day or two before they so barbarously left us 
here, and from some things the men said at times 
in their careless way, we concluded, I repeat, that 
the place of our sad captivity lay somewhere be- 
tween ten and twelve degrees of latitude north of 
the line, and in about the same degree of heat with 
the South Caribbean Sea. This taught us we might 
expect to meet with both the goods and ills of such 
a latitude so long as we remained here, or indeed till 


56 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

our deatlie, if indeed we were at last to find our 
graves on this lonely place. 

We then began to ask, for what aim we were hur- 
rying in our exploring party through the island ? — 
We should but reach the end of oui tether the soon- 
er — and there was a bitter feeling (I well knew) 
awaiting us when we should arrive at the southern 
point of our prison-yard, as we were already ac- 
quainted with the northern. No sign of an inhabit- 
ant had been seen by any of us, and for aught that 
appeared we were the lords and possessors of all we 
surveyed — which was poor comfort enough. So this 
being considered, we sat down under the shadow of 
a large tree of the pimento kind ; and the men, m 
spite of the hearty breakfast they had made in the 
morning, now voted it to be dinner-time. I forgot 
to say we had packed up the remainder of our meat 
and bread-fruit, which Harvey volunteered to car- 
ry on his shoulders, wrapped in palm leaves. This 
was now spread for us on the grass, and we fell to, 
some more, some less, according to the character 
and appetite of each. 

Sailors mostly live for the day, and are Co used to 
chances and changes that it matters little to them 
where they make their shake-down when the day is 
over. I could not discover, from any chance remark 
that fell from these men, they had any plan of living 
settled in their minds under these strange circum- 
stances in which we were placed. They seemed to 
leave every arrangement to Don Manuel and me — 
though they would have shown themselves jealous 
indeed, and rebellious too, had we assumed to die- 


TBl OATHOLIO ORTTSOB. 


67 


tate to them. It came to be the same in the end — 
for we had to consult and suggest for the whole 
party at every turn. Don Manuel, on his part, sel- 
dom expressed his opinion except when there was a 
question of right or wrong, or when he thought he 
could guide our minds to the better things whereon 
his own was constantly fixed. On those occasions 
he spoke, and always with the same even, cheerful 
temper which had gained him our hearts, or some 
part of them, from the first. 

But I grow wearisome vsdth these details ; only, 
that the first few events of our establishment on the 
island were of such importance in fixing our condi 
tion there for years afterwards, that it may be par- 
donable to dwell on them at greater length. 

Well, we sat or lay down, to our rest, and our 
early dinner, and I took the occasion to speak up 
again. 

“ Let us now consider,” said I, “ what sort of ha- 
bitations we shall fix on, and how we shall best 
seek to support ou.** lives here. No more caves for 
us, if you please, unless we can find one that has 
no sulphur fumes coming from us. Tell us, Harry, 
how say you ?” 

“No indeed,” answered he, making a wry face 
and with an oath that did not add anything but pro 
faneness to his discourse. And this Don Manuel 
gently reminded him of. “ Well, I was wrong,” 
added Gill, taking the reproof better than I expected 
from him ; “ but I have n’t got the taste of the brim- 
stone out of my mouth yet, and that I suppose made 
me swear. Give us another slice of cold pork, Hai^ 


68 THE ADTENTUREfi OP OWEN EVANS, 

vey, and a crumb of our outlandish loaf there, and 
no more about it.” 

“Now,” said I, continuing, “ the first thing, as 
appears to me, is to devise some method for sup- 
plying ourselves with food, not for to-day or to- 
morrow, but for as long as we may have to stay 
here. This cannot be by shooting down our game 
from day to day, for we have not powder and shot 
among us for more than perhaps forty or fifty 
rounds — and what becomes of us when these are ex- 
pended ? So I propose that we select, in the first 
place, some spot for a preserve, in which to keep 
such animals as we may snare or wound by shoot- 
ing, and that we husband our ammunition as much 
as possible for future need.” 

No one raised a voice against my proposal — so I 
regarded it as passed, and went on. 

“ Next,” I said, “ let each of us name some of the 
things we are most in want of, and let us see how 
we are to procure or make them, and what we must 
needs do without.” 

At this, all fell to considering what they should 
name as most important to us in our distress. 

“ Come, Prodgers,” I went on, with a little mo- 
tion aside to Don Manuel, that I gave the surly old 
fellow this precedence in order to make him more 
favorable ; “ what do you propose we should make 
for ourselves first ?” 

This set Richard Prodgers a-thinking, and he be- 
gan searching his wits in the way most sailors do — 
that is to say, he fumbled in his pockets, twirled his 
hat round once or twice, turned a quid of tobacco in 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


69 


bis cheek, and finished by refreshing his memory 
from his bottle of rum. At that last act of his, the 
rest fell to laughing at him, and insisted he should 
mention what was uppermost in his mind. 

“ I think,” said Prodgers slowly, with a very 
thoughtful look, “ the first thing we should provide 
is, a fresh supply of hog for our dinner to-morrow.” 

“ And grog, I suppose,” added Harvey, seeing 
that the bottle peeped from Richard’s pocket. 

Prodgers looked angrily, but I took up the dis- 
course to prevent any further jars amongst us, and 
said none could doubt that our food must be looked 
to without delay, as I had already expressed. — 
“ And what say you, Ned Hilton?” I continued, 
turning to where he had sat a moment before. 

But Hilton had strolled away while we were 
speaking, and was eyeing one of the trees overhead 
which was a cocoa-nut tree. 

“ It is !” cried he, with great glee. “ Hallo, mess- 
mates — a real live monkey ! Look, there is another ! 
and a third again ! 

Up they all were at once, and not another thought 
about our future plans, so eagerly did they enter in- 
to this monkey chase. Indeed I must own it was a 
diverting thing to see the monkeys, great troops of 
which we now discovered in the trees, where they 
had been watching our movements, scamper ofiT in 
all directions with much swiftness until they seemed 
to think the distance among the higher branches 
made them secure — then they looked down at us 
with such grimaces and chatterings as I believe 
would have made an owl laugh. There was no 


70 THE ADVENTURES OV OWEN EVANS, 

cnance of catching any of them by climbing th« 
trees, though some of our men could climb like mon- 
keys themselves ; for the trees grew so thick togeth- 
er that their branches interlaced, and the nimble 
creatures could easily have fled from one end of the 
wood to the other without once touching the ground. 
It seemed also to make no matter to them whether 
they used their hands, or feet, or tails-; for their 
tails, as we afterwards found, measured nearly two 
feet in length, and were longer indeed than them- 
selves, they being of a smaller kind of monkey, 
though exceedingly active and mischievous. 

It is scarce to be believed how they would hang 
themselves by the very end of these strong and flex- 
ible tails of theirs, only just clasping a small branch 
with them, as we might hook up a rasher of bacon 
on a nail by a small hook, just enough to keep it 
from falling ofl* ; then, suspended in this way, they 
would swing in any direction they chose, till they 
swung themselves near enough to another branch to 
catch it, or leap on to it, and so be as much at home 
as they were before. They would throw themselves 
about with such astonishing precision, and certainty 
of lighting in safety, as almost equalled a bird upon 
the wing. In short, they being among the trees in 
their own natural element, as I may say, and we be- 
neath them on the earth, which was ours, they had 
us at considerable disadvantage in this game ; and 
this they seemed to be aware of ; for leaping and 
shaking the branches till all the trees above us were 
m a commotion, by their strange grimaces and chat- 
tering noises they appeared as thougli they were 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


71 


latighing at us, and bidding us come up and do our 
best to catch them. 

Such conduct irritated the men to that degree that 
they ran for their fire-arms to shoot and bring some 
of the monkeys down ; but I entreated them to be 
still for a while longer, promising them some cocoa- 
nuts for their forbearance ; for an idea had just 
come into my head, and methouglit I had hit upon a 
means of getting some of these nuts without the 
pains of climbing for them. So I bade my comrades 
to pick up some stones and clods of earth, with 
which we sent a volley into the trees, that we 
might provoke the monkeys to return our compli- 
ment. And so indeed they did ; for after sending 
down upon us all they could readily lay hands on, as 
leaves, and a few dead boughs, or the like, this not 
satisfying their vengeance, they leaped with one ac- 
cord into the cocoa-nut trees, of which a good num- 
ber grew hereabout, and began plucking and tug- 
ging with all their might (at least some of the oldest 
or the strongest among them) at the nuts, to get 
them off to cast at us ; and they held fast to the 
stem of the tree all the while with their tails to keep 
themselves from falling. So great was the rage oi 
these creatures that they put forth all their btrength 
upon it ; and if one could not pull off a cocoa-nut, 
for the nut was wrapped up in its coarse outer rind, 
and stuck fast to the tree just under the leaves, 
then another would come and help him, till they 
had pulled it off with much effort between them. 

It was well for our heads that these monkeys 
were more expert in getting off the nuts than in 


72 


THl A5TENTUKES OF OWEN EVANS, 


taking good aim with them, or some of us might 
have come off the field of battle with cracked 
crowns for our pains. But the nuts were so large 
in their outer cases as well nigh overbalanced the 
monkeys that threw them, so that they could not 
send them at us very exactly. Only that some few 
of the more cunning of their number (for it seems 
among monkeys as among men, there are those 
who take the lead by reason of their superior in- 
telligence, or their greater watchfulness and cun- 
ning,) first taking a firm hold of the tree with 
their tails, swung themselves towards us, and de- 
livered the cocoa-nuts straight at us, as a cricketer 
would deliver the ball at a wicket ; by which it 
happened that, though we kept our eyes about us, as 
indeed we had need, and jumped aside as nimbly 
as we might, to avoid these cannon-balls, we were 
ait once or twice, and that smartly ; for I must 
tell you, a full ripe cocoa-nut, thrown by an angry 
monkey from a high tree, is no joke upon your 
head or arm. 


CHAPTER X. 

WE DISCOVER WHAT A PRIEST IS. 

The euemy having so far gained a success, and 
we having by this a plentiful supply of cocoa- 
nuts, I thought it time to put an end to the fight 
by the superior force of our fire-arms — the more 


TH* OATflOWO OBUflOfl. 


T8 


80 , that the cries of our assailants already engaged 
against us, had drawn others of their tribe to the 
spot, so that their numbers increased continually, 
and the wood seemed alive with them. For this rea- 
on, I gave the word for the three fowling-pieces, 
wliich formed the main stock of our artillery, to be 
discharged into the trees, which the men did with 
a hearty good mil. As the pieces were loaded 
with a kind of swan-shot, equally fitted for bring- 
ing down small animals and the larger sort of birds, 
we should have done great execution among the 
monkeys, but that by a kind of sagacity or instinct, 
such as I cannot account for, (seeing they had cer- 
tainly never been fired at before in all their lives,' 
no sooner did they mark our preparations than, slip- 
ping behind the stems of their native trees, they 
placed themselves in shelter so that we could scarce 
touch them. Then they would look out cautiously, 
and grin again at us, daring us to do our worst — 
The end was, that besides wounding a few, which 
increased the noise, we did but kill one outright — 
and that was a poor monkey with her two cubs; 
one of them she carried under her arm, while the 
other clasped its hands round her neck. She was so 
encumbered with these, as not to get nimbly enough 
out of the w^ay. I say, we killed this one ; but it 
could not be said, brought it down ; for the poor crea- 
ture took firm hold of the tree with her long tail, 
and hung there, like a malefactor in chains, only 
head downwards, and the cubs still clinging, and 
crying, like little infants, with the fright, and strain 
of hanging on. I called out to Harvey that they 


74 


THB ADVSNTURES OP OWEN EVANB, 


would soon drop, one after the other ; and so they did, 
while he held his hat to receive them, having lined 
it with his handkerchief to break their fall. 

This was the result of our battle ; one killed, and 
two prisoners, or adopted subjects, which you will. 
For the rest, they scampered away at the report of 
the fire-arms as though they could not get far enough 
from the scene of action, and we saw them no more 
that day. As to the dead monkey, we left it in the 
tree, as not being worth climbing for ; and thinking 
the sight of it hanging there would drive away the 
rest from the spot, if we made our plans to return 
thither ; and this indeed it did, in some degree. 

So now, as we went along on our tour of discovery, 
we took up our debate again, as to the kind of dw^el- 
lings we should furnish ourselves with. Of natives, 
we had not seen a trace ; yet we did not on that ac- 
count feel quite secure : the nature of savages being, 
to lie hid so close in the bush as scarce to be dis- 
covered till (I may almost say) you walk over them, 
like a hare in her form ; then, rising up, to take you 
unawares, or wait for a night attack, when they may 
bum and massacre all before them. And, if any 
were here on our island (or rather theirs), they had 
certainly had notice enough of our coming, what 
with firing of guns from the ship, and our own fowling- 
pieces, together ^vith our heedless shoutings ; and so 
had been enabled to put out their fires, and hide their 
canoes in some of the many small creeks on this east- 
♦ rn side. 

Yet, on the other hand, the island being so small 
I we had now made it out to be, it could not sup* 


THI CATHOLIC CRCSOB. 


75 


port more than a few of such people as lived altoge- 
ther by chase, and knew little of tilling the ground : 
and the game we had already seen was so plentiful, 
it was plain it had not been much thinned out by 
hunting. Also, I considered, if our enemies should 
appear, and not in great force, we had a vast advan- 
tage in our fire-arms ; which, beside the deadly exe- 
cution they do among defenceless savages, are always 
known to astonish more than they kill : being looked 
on as dreadful thunder and lightning from heaven, 
by such as know only bows and arrows, or darting 
spears, armed with fishes’ teeth for weapons of of- 
fence. 

By this time, we were within about ttiree quar- 
ters of a league of that southern point whereto we 
were travelling : when, seeing to our left hand a lit- 
tle eminence rising up somewhat clearer of trees 
than the thick woodland, we made for that, in order 
to take an observation. It rose, as far as we judged, 
seventy feet, if not more, above the sea-level ; when 
we gained the top, we could see pretty well around 
us, though some lofty groves of cocoa-nut and othe< 
tropical growths here and there partly shut out the 
view. But the open sea was clearly enough to be 
distinguished on both sides, and to the south also ; 
and more particularly we noticed that the eastern 
coast was clearer of the lava rock, but more occupied 
by reefs of coral. These ran out into such fantastic 
promontories, with capes and headland, creeks and 
bays, though all miniature, as not only made up a 
beautiful prospect, with dwarf cocoa and palms grow- 
ing thickly upon them, dipping their broad leaves 


76 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVANi, 

down to the very edge ; but promised us some quiet 
nooks of deep water where we might get good 
fishing for our support. And so it proved after- 
wards. 

We stayed some time on this spot, which every- 
thing made delightful, but for the heat of the sun 
and want of water ; and finding the situation so fav- 
orable, we gazed on all sides, each taking my teles- 
cope in turn, and looking out sharp enough (you may 
be sure) for any sign of an inhabitant besides our- 
selves. But we became assured by degrees, to our 
satisfaction in one way, that we were, indeed the only 
human beings on the island. Don Manuel gave a 
little sigh when he heard us express this to one ano- 
ther. 

“ Why, sir,” said I, turning to him with some sur. 
prise, “ you would not wish to find savages on this 
place ? and should we not be thankful to have a clear 
field before us, and no enemies to drive out of it, or 
shoot down in our defence ?” 

“ True, Senor,” answered he, “ I am not saying 
anything against that ; we ought surely to be thank- 
ful for eyery mercy and deliverance, and resigned 
under every trial.” 

“ But why, then,” I began again ; but stopped my- 
self, for there was a something, I know not what, 
about the priest, that made it diflicult to question him, 
all meek and cheerful as he w^as. 

The men listened attentively, and I saw they 
wished, like myself, to get at the priest’s mind about 
all this. So I made another attempt. 

“ You expressed a hope, sir,” said I, “ yesterday, 


THE CATHOLIC CRD801. 


77 


when we first landed, that we might meet with none, 
man or beast, to eat us up.” 

“ Indeed, I did, my dear friend,” answered the 
priest, with his frank, cheerful smile, “ and I do so 
still; for I should not like to be devoured just yet; 
unless,” he added, “ it were His most holy will.” 
And he lifted his hat, as was usual with him, when he 
spoke in that way. 

There was that about his manner, though I cannot 
tell exactly why, nor wherein it lay, which stopped 
me as if I had intruded into his thoughts ; I was go- 
ing to let the subject drop, feeling half inclined even 
to beg his pardon for what I had seemed to ask. But 
after a few moments, seeing us all silent and still 
looking at him, he laughed in his quiet gentle way, and 
said to us : 

“ W ell, comrades, don’t let me be making myster- 
ies out of a very simple thing. As you take a little 
sigh so much to heart, I will explain it in a few 
words, and then have done about myself. Or, you 
shall help me to do it. Tell me, then, what is a 
priest ?” 

This was, I must own, a difficult question for us 
to answer out of hand ; and I felt at once that, in a 
courteous way, our friend had turned the tables up- 
on us. As he stood there, leaning on his staff, with 
his cloak dropped about him, his broad hat, and he 
looking at us with his friendly smile, expecting our 
answer, I thought within myself, whatever other 
priests might be (and I had heard, from my boy- 
hood upward, talk enough against them in many 
Ways,V there was one whom I could respect as a bo- 


T8 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN STANE, 

ing superior to mysf>lf, or indeed to any one I had 
ever fallen in with. 

“ Well,” repeated Don Manuel after a while, still 
looking round at us, and I know we felt awkward all 
over, as we stood before him ; “ well, my good friends, 
and what is a priest 

N ed Hilton seemed to think it concerned the honor 
of the party that our Spaniard should get some ans- 
wer. So, clearing his throat, and making the best of 
himself, he began : 

“ A priest, sir, I suppose, is a man who ” and 

here he stopped, twitching the collar of his sailor’s 
jacket, and shuffling a little with his feet, as not know- 
ing how to go on. 

“ Who what, friend ?” asked the Don. 

“ Why, of course, you know, is, — ^why, a priest, I 
suppose.” 

At this explanation, no one could help laughmg : 
and Don Manuel, having enjoyed it a little, then said, 
more gravely : 

“ A priest, my dear friends, is, or ought to be, one 
devoted to the service of his Master, who has called 
him. He ought never to be so happy as when speak- 
ing to Him, or working for him. Every opportunity 
of labor or suffering for His sake, ought to be wel- 
come. Each one to whom the priest may do good, 
he should consider as a brother, a friend, a spiritual 
child. I confess I have been nursing a hope within 
me, that as I am disabled by this great misfortune of 
ours from proceeding to those among whom my su- 
periors had sent me to iaoor, 1 mignt at least find 
some poor heathens in this place whom I might wia 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


79 


to God. It is not to be so : and now you know the 
meaning of that sigh which escaped from my heart. 
May His holy will be ever done, and by us all. I re 
main at least your servant. And now, shall we not 
be moving onward ?” 

There came over each one among us, I believe 
such a feeling while he spoke, as we had never known 
before. On we moved, as if he had ordered it so, 
and none spoke, for each was wondering at what he 
had just heard. But I forgot to mention that we 
agreed, before this, to give to the place the name of 
Prospect Hill j and it was the first spot on our island 
that we had named at alL 


CHAPTER XL 

THE BEST AND WOEST SHOT. 

Keeping down this hill again, and still with a 
southerly bearing, we came on a spring of water 
gushing from the hill-side at about half-way down, 
as clear, and fresh as that we had met on landing. 
We were glad enough to discover it; for all of us 
were now athirst with our long, hot march: and, 
having our time on our hands to do as we would 
with it, sitting down by the spring, we fell into talk 
again about the mode of living that was before 
us. 

The most natural thing to determine was, how to 
ImUd us some huts to dwell in. Here we were, with- 


80 


THE ADYBNTUKBS OF OWEN BYANS, 


out any tools, or prospect of finding or making any. 
One chance we might have, if we could meet with 
that greenish stone of great hardness, which savage 
nations contrive to fashion into hatchet-heads and 
chisels. But, then, our island might furnish none of 
these ; or, when we found them, we had no means to 
grind them into shape, or give them an edge, without 
great labor and expense of time. Time, indeed, ap- 
peared to be the commodity in which we were now 
most rich : yet I considered again that we were draw- 
ing near the rainy season, which was like to set fair- 
ly in ere a month or six weeks were come and gone, 
it being now the last week in Angust. We all knew 
by report the violence of these rains when once tney 
set in ; and Harvey and Prodgers had both cniised 
in these latitudes before, and had got many a wet 
jacket in the autumnal equinox and after. So we 
had need to do something in the way of house-build- 
ing out of hand, if only temporary, to last us over 
till next spring. 

A thought suddenly came upon me, as I looked at 
the guns that lay by our sides. “We must sacrifice,” 
said I, “ one or more of these, to make us some tools.” 
They all looked at me, surprised at what I said ; and, 
plainly, their first thought was to refuse. But I went 
on to show that it was needful to the good of all ; 
that unless we had a way to cut down trees, we could 
neither build, no, not the rudest hut, nor clear any 
plot of ground for plantations ; that our ammunition, 
with the greatest husbandry and care, would soon be 
spent, and then what was the use of the fowling-piece# 
to us ? To all this Prodgers, who took on him tho 


THK CATHOLIC CKUSOE. 


81 


office of objector-general, said, in his surly way, what 
could I make out of a gun ? But I had my answer 
ready, and told him smartly I could make a gun into 
a gouge. I believe, what moved the others to come 
into my plan was, in part, that, all enjoyed seeing 
old Prodgers put down so readily : then, too, it was 
plain that, in our unhappy case, nothing better could 
be devised. 

“ And which gun is to go, then ?” asked Richard, 
jealous about his own. Now, it so happened that 
he was the worst shot in the whole party ; so that if 
any one of them had to surrender his piece, it should 
be this man: thus much every one felt, except Prod- 
gers himself ; and he (it was just like him) would not 
hear of it. 

But I had ere now been going to propose a shoot- 
ing match among them, to decide which should carry 
the fowling-pieces on our expeditions ; and this 
seemed a fitting occasion for doing so. In short, no 
sooner did I mention it, than the three men, Harvey, 
Gill, and Hilton, agreed at once ; so Prodgers was 
outvoted, which he took in no good part. I was ap- 
pointed umpire for this trial of skill ; before we made 
it, I promised, to salve over any sore feeling, that 
the third and fourth man (for only two could then 
carry fowling-pieces, if we sacrificed the barrel of the 
third) should have an equal use between them of the 
rifle, and that I would only claim a shot now and 
then. 

This being laid down, I bade them take notice of 
a fruit of the orange kind, and much of the same size, 
which by reason of its bright color was a good mark 


82 TUB ADVENTURES OF OWBN XVAN8, 

for the eye ; it grew on a low-sized tree of its kind, 
within fair range for a fowling-piece from where we 
stood. There were others on the tree, but not so 
large or golden, and partly hidden with leaves. 
“ Now,” said I, “ he who plants most shot in the rind 
of this fruit shall be first marksman among us, and 
wear a feather in his cap ; and so of the next.” So 
saying, I went towards the tree ; and finding, a little 
on one side, another of the wild fig-tree kind, with a 
stem broad enough to give me safe shelter, I 
stepped behind it, and called Prodgers, as the eldest, 
to fire. 

So indeed he did ; but hit neither orange nor or- 
ange-tree, as I could plainly know by the shot pat- 
tering into another bush that grew near. However, 
I own that poor Dick made us bounden to him, to 
thank him ; for he brought us our supper when he and 
we least thought of it. For in the very bush he fired 
int^> so clumsily, there sat a largish monkey of the 
same kind that we had put to flight before ; he had 
sat there : I suppose, watching our motions from a 
distance, till he knew too much of us, poor fellow, 
as some of his companions had. But of this by and 
bye : at the present, we discovered not the execution 
Prodgers had done ; for the monkey was killed stone 
dead, and we found him afterwards, by accident, as I 
shall relate in a moment. 

It was now Hilton’s turn to fire ; and, to make all 
this short, be it said, he and Gill were so near one 
another in their shots, as each to plant some grains 
of swan-shot in the orange ; and both of them dis- 
ed Tom Harvey, who only peppered into the 


OATfiOLTO CRtTSOB. S8 

branches. I adjudged the fowling-pieces to these 
two men, and gave preference to Gill for first choice. 
It was easy to discover which of the three guns was 
oldest and worst ; and this we condemned at once to 
be broken up, stock and lock, barrel and trigger, to 
make such rude instruments as we needed for our 
carpenter’s work. So we took it with us, till we could 
break it at our leisure. 

Moving onwards again, we came to the bush into 
which Prodgers had scattered the contents of his 
blunderbuss ; and here we found the monkey lying 
at the roots. We took him up, and looked at as ug- 
ly a caricature of our poor human nature as ever was 
drawn by a malicious pen. I could not but wonder 
as he lay there before us, like a hideous hump-backed 
creature as he was, grinning in death, how any one in 
a civilized country could go and see those monkeys 
in then- cages : unless it were a philosopher to specu- 
late on what degraded human nature might grow 
like, if left to itself ; as I have heard of an ancient 
nation where parents would force their slaves to get 
drunk in presence of their children, to show them, by 
example, what a debasing thing was drunkenness. I 
mentioned this thought to the priest, and asked him 
how he viewed it. 

“ I think both of them wrong,” answered Don Man- 
uel ; “ both the Spartans of old, and such parents and 
elders now, as take their children, or allow them to 
go, to such exhibitions. For the sight of a drunken 
slave, or of a monkey that with the shape has not the 
conscience or soul that belongs to us, brings no lesson 


84 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

that cannot be learned in better ways, and is in itself 
vile and disgusting.” 

On second thoughts, after all this, we decided upon 
taking the monkey with us, and cooking him for sup- 
per when we should halt for the night. Only we 
could not bear either to take him as he was ; for the 
creature looked so human as well as hideous, that 
our men, though no way squeamish, declared they 
would not touch a bit of him unless he was cut up 
and baked or broiled piecemeal. So Prodgers, as he 
had the best right to him, undertook the office of but- 
cher preparing for the cook; and indeed, he was 
helped by most of the rest. I contented myself ^vitb 
cutting off the monkey’s long tail and putting it intc 
the hat of Harry Gill, instead of the feather I had 
promised him, as best man in the shooting-match : 
and Don Manuel turned for awhile to his prayer- 
book, as he generally did when there was a leisure 
moment. 

However, we did not neglect to pluck some of the 
oranges off the tree, besides the one that Harry Gill 
had riddled with his shot, and which he gathered as 
a trophy, carving a ridiculous face in it by making a 
mouth and eyes with his knife in the rind, and trying 
to make it look like a portrait of old Prodgers; 
which he partly did, so that Hilton could not contain 
himself for laughing when he looked at it. But very 
soon Harry began to grin with pain instead; for the 
milky juice that oozed out of the rind as he cut it, 
was of such a burning quality as blistered his fingers 
at once. And well for him, and for us all, that w« 
were so warned before we began to eat of the fruit 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


85 


or, I believe, no one of us had escaped death from in- 
flammation by this poisonous juice. 

When Gill cried out in his pain, and let Prodgers* 
head (in the orange, I mean,) drop on the ground, we 
all gathered round him to see what was the matter. 
But no sooner did the priest observe the fruit, and 
the tree on which it grew, than he exclaimed : 

“’Tis the manchineel tree I Take care, friends ; do 
not stand too near it, or you may feel its effects in 
your eyes.” And he explained to the men that from 
the juice of this tree the savage nations inhabiting 
countries where it grows, extract the poison in which 
they dip their arrows. So virulent is the burning of 
the juice, says he, that when the tree is to be cut 
down for making into furniture, for which it is much 
esteemed, the workmen kindle a fire around it to dry 
out the sap first, and so save their eyes. 

We took warning from Harry Gill’s mishap, and 
retreated to a respectful distance from the tree, of 
which we afterwards found our island to supply a 
good many specimens. But I now applied myself to 
heal his blistered hands as well as might be, without 
medical remedies ; and, casting about for something 
to assuage the pain, lighted on a large broad leaf 
that grew not many paces from the manchineel. 
This leaf was thick and pulpy, containing a cool 
juice in its fibres, that allayed the inflammation 
caused by the other. Thus as in England they say 
the nettle and the dock are found growing in the 
same hedge, so here were the evil and the remedy 
side by side. I gathered half a dozen of the leaves, 
wrapping them round Gill’s hands and tying them 


86 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

np with our handkerchiefs, so that he walked about 
in a pair of large green gloves, that made his com- 
panions call him the dandy of their society. But by 
these means his blisters were so reduced that he soon 
felt them scarce at all. 

I may as well here finish the history of the two 
Kttle monkeys that fell into our hands out of the 
cocoa-nut tree. Harvey did all in his power to keep 
them alive, putting one into each of his jacket pock- 
ets to huddle them up warm, and trying to feed 
them with cocoa-nut milk — for I forgot to say, we 
brought the cocoa-nuts also with us, and very re- 
freshing we found both the milk and pulp of them 
in these great heats. But for the monkeys, both of 
them died before the second day was out ; and Har- 
vey, who was much concerned at this, buried them 
under two tall palm trees, not far from Prospect 
Hill. Going that way some time after, I found he 
had placed a large flat stone over them, and had 
found means to scratch, rudely enough, this epitaph 
with the point of his knife — 

“ Here lyes y® bodys of two little apes, 

Short was their lives, ugly their shapes ; 

One would ’a been Pug and t’other Joko, 

But alas, I couldn’t rear ’em on cocoa.'* 


ra* CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


87 


CHAI^ER Xn. 

HOW MUCH GOODNESS GOES TO EOEGIVENBBS. 

OuE trial of skill being thus over, we resumed our 
jnarch, and soon reached the shore on the S.S.E. of 
our prison. As to the point due south, it ran up in- 
to rather a high cliff, and would have cost us a dif- 
ficult climb to gain it. We now found ourselves in 
a little cove, wherein the water lay very still under 
this cliff, the bottom being of a fine white coral sand 
shelving out by degrees, not getting to a great 
depth, as we judged, till it was some twelve or fif- 
teen yards from the shore. After that, indeed, we 
could see, by the dark line below the water, that it 
went sheer down into deep sea. Also we noticed, 
that in a part of the cliff beyond this deep water 
line, appeared the mouth of a very low cave, scarce- 
ly showing two feet above the sea level. So that at 
first we doubted its being a cave at all, and took it 
for some dent in the rock, which at that part over- 
hung it as steep as the wall of a house. But shortly 
we made it out to be indeed an inlet into the cliff, 
from the hollow sound of the water inside as it came 
and went, though the cove was so still, as I have 
said 

“ Come, boys !” cried I, “ here is an adventure 
for us. Who will be first to swim into yonder cave’s 
mouth ?” Hilton and Tom Harvey were forward at 
once ; as for Harry Gill, he shook his head, and de- 
clared he had known enough of caves for one day. 


88 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

But second thoughts bade me remind them that it 
was best one should go alone, if indeed it were 
worth the while to do it at all, and the rest stand 
on the watch to see no harm happened to him. I 
did not say what had come into my mind, but I own 
I felt uneasy after I had proposed the swim, lest 
there should be any sharks, with which these seas 
are known to abound, cruising about in our neigh- 
borhood. For so great is the swiftness and vora- 
cious hunger of this dreadful fish, as no swimmer, be 
he never so active, can escape him ; and the number 
and sharpness of his double rows of teeth is such, 
that it needs but one bite from him to take off a 
limb as clean as any surgeon could do it. There was 
a degree of safety, ’tis true, in the coral reefs w^hich 
seemed, by the surf dashing high over them, to sur- 
round this part of the island at from fifty to a hun- 
dred yards off shore. Nevertheless I feared some 
inlet between them into our cove, through which 
these gentlemen, the sharks (sea lawyers, so the men 
called them) might find their way, though a boat 
would be stove without remedy in the passage, by 
the violence of the outer sea. 

In short, it was a relief to me when Don Manuel 
took up the discourse, saying in his quiet way, “ I 
tought, my friends” (he had left off calling us Se- 
nores, at least mostly, since we had known each oth- 
er so much better,) “T thought,” says he, “we 
agreed to look wdthout delay for something of a 
dwelling to house ourselves in. Now this cave,” he 
added, smiling, “ whatever wonders it may contain, 
could hardly afford this to us, and ” 


THS OATHOLIO CRUSOB. 


Sd 

“ Begging your pardon,” says rough old Prodgen 
— “ I don’t see that at all, for I’ve some thoughts of 
living in it myself.” 

At this the three men set up a shout of laughter, 
and began to banter him, as if he were never to hear 
the end of it. One called him the hermit of the cave, 
another the old man of the sea. Harvey said he 
would grow into Neptune, or become finned, or at 
least web-footed, or a Triton ; Hilton declared the 
fishes would come and ask him to reign over them — 
“ and then,” says Gill, “ we shall see his majesty 
drive out for an airing in a turtle’s shell for a coach, 
drawn by six sword-fish.” “ With a body guard of 
monkeys,” added Hilton again. “ Aimied vdth fowl- 
ing pieces that kill tremendously, and all by chance,” 
concluded Gill. 

This last stroke was too much for old Richard, 
who started to his feet and challenged Harry to 
fight him on the spot. The other was no ways 
backward; so oflf went their jackets, and they be- 
gan m earnest, before Don Manuel and I could in- 
terfere. “ Good humor, ahoy !” shouted Tom Har- 
vey, holding back Prodgers, while the priest and I 
tried to reason with Gill. In short, we restored 
them to peace with some difficulty ; and only by 
Harry and myself, with Hilton, who joined the bet- 
ter side this time, telling them in a determined way, 
if they offered to strike another blow we would 
knock them both down and tie their hands behind 
them. 

When they were calmed down, though there was 
some grumbling still on either side, we made them 


90 THE ADTENTURES OT OWEN EVANS, 

shake bands, and no more ado about it Don Man 
uel indeed whispered to me that it were prudent to 
look after their knives, lest they might bear one an- 
other a grudge, and so take worse revenge. But I 
answered him in a like whisper, that ^twas the na 
ture of a Jack-tar to knock his man down in the first 
blush of a quarrel, and then help him up again ; that 
when once they had shaken hands after a fight where 
even they might have gone within an inch of mur* 
dering one another, they would be the best of friends 
and messmates the next moment, each ready to risk 
his life to save the other’s ; that, as to grudge borne 
for a fair blow, ’twas a thing unknown among them, 
as little thought on as to fire into an enemy’s ship 
after she had struck her fiag, and you had taken her 
in tow. 

All this seemed to surprise him at the time, and 
he plainly thought it over, as I could judge by his 
manner, but there was no leisure then to pursue it. 
Only, next afternoon, as we walked together at a 
little distance from the rest, he took up the discourse 
again, as I will here relate. 

He said then to me, “ Senor Owen, a strange thing 
was that you told me yesterday about anger and 
fighting. In my country it gives the priests no 
small work to try and persuade people to forgive in- 
juries, as these two men now seem to have forgiven 
and forgotten too. In Spain, I am sorry to say, ow- 
mg to our hot Spanish blood, when a man thinks he 
has received an afiront from another, his first impulse 
is to vow revenge, and too often he begins planning 
how to compass it. If he abandons himself to thii 


THE CATHOLIC CUnSOl. 


91 


evil passion and neglects the warnings of conscience, 
he will keep this settled purpose m his heart — aye, 
sometimes for years, till he meets or makes the op- 
portunity, and th 311 will wreak his vengeance to the 
full. Now, how different is the conduct of thes 
seamen ! They seem as good friends again as ever 
after the hard knocks they gave each other.” 

“ That they are,” I answered ; “ and believe me, 
if either Prodgers or Gill were to fall into any dan- 
ger, the other would pull him out of it, if he could, 
at the risk of life or limb.” 

“ God forgive me, then, for a harsh judgment,” 
said the priest, striking his breast a little ; “ I find 
they are much better Christians than I took them to 
be.” 

I could scarce help smiling at the notion of these 
men being good Christians ; but I answered him 
respectfully [indeed I respected him as much for his 
humbly accusing himself, as for the other qualities I 
had marked in himj and said, shaking my head, 

“ I fear, sir, that the most of the Christianity 
among us is wrapped within your reverence’s cloak, 
though we never have professed anything else, to be 
sure. Yet I know not how much we have prac- 
tised it ; and I know, in many ways, we have prac- 
tised the clean contrary.” 

“ But how do you tell me,” answers he quickly — 
for I could see he now took the character of the men 
warmly to heart, “ how do you tell me, Senor Ow- 
en, that they are not good Christians, since they have 
performed one of the most bounden duties of a Chria* 


92 TH* ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 

tian, and w^hat is sometimes one of the hardest, for 
giving injuries, which they did hut yesterday?” 

“ Well, sir,” said I, and felt rather puzzled how to 
answer him, “ I am no great divine, that is certain. 
You asked us yesterday what a priest is : now let me 
ask, what do you mean by a Christian ?” 

“ A brief question, friend,” replied the priest, 
“ and a long answer, if answered fully. I want to 
know, for my part, why these brave men are not to 
be reckoned good Christians, inasmuch as they for- 
give ?” 

“ Because,” answered I, readily, “ it costs them 
nothing to do it.” 

“ Ah,” says he, drawing a long breath, “ costs 
them nothing, you say ?” 

“ Nothing whatsoever, sir. ’Tis part of their 
rough-and-tumble life to knock down and be knocked 
down in turn; and when they jump up again, all is 
forgotten in the tuning of a fiddle.” 

The priest seemed not quite to understand my 
expressions, so I explained my meaning in other 
words, and then continued : 

“ Now virtue, I believe, sir, is doing good, or 
keeping from evU, in spite of the difficulty we feel 
in acting thus. Am I right ?” 

“ Certainly,” answered the priest. 

“ So, if I do a thing good in itself, without finding 
it difficult, but do it merely in an oflf-hand way, as I 
would hand my neighbor a portion at dinner, when 
I had enough and to spare; there w.ould not be much 
goodness in that ?” 

“ There may be a natural goodness,” says Da« 


THR CATHOLIC CRUSOl. 


M 


Manuel, as if he thought much while he said the 
words ; “ that cannot be called supernatural.” 

“ What do you mean, sir ?” said I, surprised in 
my turn, “ by supernatural goodness ? I thought 
miracles had ceased, and a miracle is something su- 
pernatural.” 

“ I will tell you another time,” says he, smiling 
again. 


CHAPTER XHL 

A LESSON OUT OP A SHAKK’s MOUTH. 

All this I have set down here ; though, to go by 
the order of time, it should be related after. But 
now, taking up the thread of our adventures, as we 
ranged about our cove, Tom Harvey, who had got 
out on a ledge of rock that divided it from another 
inlet to the north-east, called to us, he had found 
a skeleton lying in shallow water. We started at 
this sudden news, our minds running back on the 
old apprehensions of some savage inhabitants of our 
island, and we thought here might be one of their 
dead, drowned by accident or killed in war. How- 
ever, when we got to where Harvey stood, looking 
down into the water beneath us, which here was 
about four feet in depth, we saw the skeleton of a 
large fish, partly fallen in pieces, and the tail part 
disjointed, lying here and there on the white sand. 
The flesh, or fish rather, was as completely gone m 


•4 THB ADVENTURS OF OWEW ETAN8, 

though it had been picked clean by smaller fishes — 
which indeed was the case in all likelihood. But the 
head-bones and jaws were entire, pointing inland ; 
and as the body of the fish was turned on its side, I 
judged it had pushed so far into the cove in pursuit 
of some prey, and had stuck fast on the sand while 
seizing it, or been left by the ebb of a high tide after 
gorging it: the mouth of the shark, and a large 
shark this plainly was, being so formed, and so far 
under the snout, that it cannot seize nor swallow its 
prey but when lying on its back or side. 

Don Manuel, when I made him observe this, re- 
marked how the providence of God, by so ordering 
it, prevented this tremendous fish from thinning out 
all other inhabitants of the ocean ; setting bounds to 
his power of devouring, when there were no bounds 
to his appetite and cruelty. But I, meantime, full 
of other thoughts, saw a valuable prize in this dis • 
covery. “Here, boys !” cried I, “here is what will 
turn to our account when the powder and shot are 
gone.” 

“ How so ?” asked they all, looking down into the 
water. 

“ See those teeth,” continued I ; “ and tell me il 
they will not make the best of arrow points for such 
bamboo arrows as we ate our dinners with to-day.” 

“ Hurrah for the bows and arrows !” cried Hilton, 
and with that he jumped down into the water, only 
throwing off his jacket, and was followed by Harvey 
and Gill. They were determined, it seems, to have 
the shark piecemeal on land. And no light job they 
had of it, as wel^ from the depth in which it lay, of 


THE CATHOLIC CBCBOE. 


w 

foHr foot water, as by reason of the size of the fish 
itself, the parts that hung together being no less than 
ten feet in length, and the tail that was broken up 
would have made the monster from fifteen to eight- 
een feet in the whole. Well, having to dip theii 
heads quite under the water each time that they 
pulled at a piece of the skeleton, and not being used 
to such diving, though all of them good swimmers, 
they were exhausted to that degree they were forced 
to give over,, without getting more than two or 
three joints of the back bone, which they threw up 
to us on the rock. The reason was, that the greater 
part of this sea monster, that is, the ribs and spine, 
were firmly bedded in the sand, whereby we conclu- 
ded he had lain there some time, having settled 
down into the sand by degrees. Seeing they could 
not succeed better for this turn, I called to them to 
.eave the body of the fish, and try for his head : so, 
after much effort, pushing with the handspike, and 
hacking with their knives, all being under water, 
and hard to manage, they got the head free with no 
little trouble from the neck joint, and dragged it 
out with them to land. 

It might have made one’s hair stand on end to 
view the monstrous jaws of this fish’s skull, armed 
each of them with two rows of teeth as sharp as 
knives, and whiter and more polished than the knife 
handle, aye, at any nobleman’s table. When we 
felt the edges of these teeth, and cut a piece of twine 
readily by sawing it across them, it was easy to cre- 
dit all the accounts of what a shark can do, which I 
for one had put down among other unlikely sailorii 


•6 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

tales. We closed the jaws and opened them again, 
marking how the rows of teeth shut upon one anoth- 
er, the outer on the outer, and the inner on the in 
ner, so that what was not clean cut asunder in these 
cruel jaws would be mangled and torn, as by a dou- 
ble machinery of pointed knives. 

“ A pretty fellow,” at length said Hilton, “ a pret- 
ty customer this to meet with on our swim into the 
sea cave ! We should soon be past praying for if he 
got a snap at us.” 

“ Past praying for ?” asked Don Manuel, not un- 
derstanding his way of speaking. “ How, friend, can 
any one be that, who is not certainly in heaven, nor 
certainly in hell ?” 

“ I mean,” says Hilton, a little surly at being tak- 
en up, though it was so gently, “ I mean we should 
surely go down to Davy Jones’s locker.” 

“ Whither ?” asks the priest again ; and it was 
plain he wanted to understand what the man meant. 

“ Why, of course,” broke in Prodgers in his own 
way, any of us who got into such a brute’s jaws as 
that, would be soon dead, and something worse — 
that’s what he means, I take it.” 

Don Manuel looked graver than was common with 
him, and turning upon old Prodgers mildly aid 
quite calm, he says, 

“ Comrade, there is indeed one thing worse after 
such a death, and there are jaws more cruel to fall 
into than those of a shark. If you meant to allude 
to those solemn, wholesome truths, we th_jik you for 
putting us m mind of them.” 

IJvery one felt what he would say, and there wai 


THE CATHOLTO CRUSOE. 


07 


ft silence amongst us. Prodgers had no answer ; 
even he was subdued this time by the priest’s man- 
ner of speaking his few words. But it was Don Ma- 
nuel’s way to make us grave and gay by turns j 
uhough ’twas often a puzzle to me to account to my- 
self what there was about him that drew us so to fol- 
low his leadings. Now, after a little pause (for he 
seemed to wish us to think on what he had just 
said,) he added more cheerfully, 

“ Well, my friends, acknowledge that the Catholio 
Church is a gentle and compassionate mother; for 
she never reckons any to be past praying for as long 
fts she can have a hope they have died in grace.” 


CHAPTER XIV. 

WE DO SOMETHING UNCOMMON. 

^ But for the moment,” continued Don Manuel, 
** what we have never settled is : where shall we pitch 
our tents? For, like the patriarchs, we have the 
land all before us, to choose what spot we will. Now 
you, friend Owen, opened the parliament this morn- 
ing with a nea^- Httle speech , but we did not finish 
the debate at that time. ’Tis an important question 
for us, how and where to lodge ourselves ; so I vote 
we continue it now And who will give us any ideas 
on the subject ?” 

Having thus put it before us, he seemed waiting 
for us to speak. 


•8 THl ADVENTURS OF OWEN EVANS, 

“ Eldest go first,” says Ned Hilton nodding at Prod' 
gers. 

“Well, then,” answered old Richard, gruffly, “I 
mean to take to a sea-faring life, and build myself a 
boat to fish in, and steer round the island.” 

No objection was made to this ; for I believe most 
of us felt it would be, as the old saying goes, “ a 
good riddance of bad rubbish,” if Prodgers were to 
take himself off thus. When I say most, there was 
©ne who (I am sure) did not feel this ; but it was not 
myself. 

“ So you’ll make the cave your boat-house ?” asked 
Tom Harvey : “ the difficulty will be, how to get in, 
or out again.” 

“ That’s my plan,” Prodgers went on, not minding 
him ; “ and while I’m building my boat, I shall lodge 
somewhere about the rocks in this cove.” 

“Now, Harry,” said I, “ we listen to your plan.” 

“Well,” answers he, “ I think I shall go across 
country, and see how I like the part we came to on 
our first landing. There you have shade, and clear 
water, as well as our water-jars, and all with a wes- 
terly aspect. Besides,” added Gill, and looked very 
earnest as he said it, “ that might be our best chance 
of seeing a ship, and making signals to be taken oflf 
this place.” 

I confess, this idea of Gill’s had more than once oc- 
curred to me; in my mind I had debated which side 
of our island had the better prospect of some stray 
vessel touching there, or sighting it from a distance. 
It was plain that what Gill now said had a great of- 


MB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 99 

feet on the men, who listened eagerly, and remained 
silent when he had done. 

“ And you, Hilton ?” said I, at length. 

Ned Hilton was one of those who seldom thought 
for himself ; so he just answered, he would go for 
the present with Harry Gill, and look about 
him, 

“ Now, friends,” says the priest, taking up our de- 
bate, “ will you let me give you a word of coun- 
sel ?” 

We listened to him ; so he went on. 

“ Let us keep together, then,” says he, “ as we .^rst 
decided; yet not so as to dwell under the same roof. 
Tastes differ, my dear friends, and dispositions too : 
we may best avoid little rubs and jars by having 
each our own hut, meeting together every day for 
dinner, and for another thing, which we have not 
thought of much, as yet.” 

“ And what’s that ?” inquired Gill. 

“ Prayer,” says Don Manuel, laying a great stress 
on the word ; “ prayer, my companions, which we 
owe to that bountiful Lord who created us, and has 
now kept us from so many dangers. I do not think 
we have said one prayer together since we have been 
on this island — shall we not begin ? Shall we not so 
much as thank Him, nor ask Him to preserve us 
still ?” And he looked round on us as he spoke. 

Any one of those he addressed, I believe, would 
not have refused to kneel down with the good priest, 
had he been alone with him. But there is a kind of 
shame, of which the devil is the author, that holds 
men back from manfully professing that they feel 


iOO THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVAN®, 

the presence of God. And we were all so hardened 
in wickedness, and knew each other to be so, as 
made none of us willing to be first in this new occu- 
pation. Prayer was what we had not practised, I 
may say, for a length of time ; and we were as awk- 
ward at beginning as a school boy who is called up 
to repeat his task. We felt, to judge them by my- 
self, it would be a kind of hypocrisy to pray, and 
then go back and forget Him to whom we prayed, 
as completely as ever. And could we pledge our- 
selves to be good and devout, and unlearn our bad 
habits, and begin to serve God ? In a word, the enemy, 
as he often does, held us back from the first right step, 
by representing it to us as insurmountable from the 
difficulty of it 

Thus we were all ashamed of each other as regards 
prayer, when we had not been so in our cursing and 
sin. But I resolved to shake this off and set something 
of an example. So placing myself on my knees, and 
joining my hands (and I verily think the last time 
that had been done was by my mother on her death 
bed, five years before), I bowed to the priest, and said, 

“Well, sir, then let us pray.” 

Tom Harvey, as I looked at him, shuffled a little ; 
then, as if he were doing a strange thing he blushed 
deep, like a child that is caught stealing sugar, and 
went down on his knees beside me. 

As I guessed, so it turned out. Ned Hilton made the 
third, though with a good deal of hesitation. But Gill 
and Prodgers stood where they were with, their hands 
in their pockets, looking straight before them, and 
whistling, as sailors are used to whistle for a wind^ 


THB OATHOLIO ORUBOB. 


101 


Aough Prodgers was the more dogged in this, and 
Harry rather less so. 

“ O my God !” exclaimed the priest on his knees, his 
hands clasped, and looking up to heaven, “ let there 
be none of us resisting a good inspiration : no mere 
spectators in this our first united prayer I” 

Still the two men did not budge. 

“ Senor Gill,” pleaded he, with such a manner as 
I think few could withstand, “ do you remember how 
lately you were all but gone into the other world, if 
that good Providence, to whom you now refuse to 
bend the knee, had not guided our steps after you in 
time to find you lying senseless in the cave ?” 

This shook Harry Gill, as I could see ; but his pride 
was not yet broken. 

Just then, Tom Harvey, who was kneeling beside 
me, caught hold on my arm, pointing towards the 
cove. I followed his hand with my eyes, and plainly 
saw the back-fin of a large shark steering about over 
the surface. He was right between that point of rock 
whence Harvey and the rest had jumped into the wa- 
ter, and the low-mouthed cave in the opposite cliff, to 
which they had well-nigh set out to swim. 

“ God of mercy !” cried Harvey, with the tears in 
his eyes ; “ and we might have been by this time in 
his jaws. Lord be praised for His goodness to us 
poor fellows.” 

“ Amen,” said Hilton, as earnest as the other. 

’T was plain that Gill too, and even Prodgers, felt 
moved at this sight ; which did indeed seem like a 
reprieve to a criminal when the rope is round his neck, 
and he just going to be turned off the ladder. 


102 


THE ADVBNTUKBS 07 OWEN ETANS, 


“Now, OLord!” cried out Don Manuel from the 
depth of his heart : “ let Thy grace at length triumph !” 

So indeed it was. Harry Gill fairly gave way now, 
and dropped on his knees, his face to the cove, as 
though he would keep the shark before his eyes to 
animate his thankfulness. The fish was steering about 
up and down, as partly to seek his food ; partly to 
play and bask in the sun ; now he would break wa- 
ter into ripples with slight strokes of his powerful 
tail, then he would float lazily again, but kept so near 
the surface in the water that the high back-fin was seen 
above. He was plainly of the white shark kind: like 
his brother whose skull was in our keeping : and this 
kind is the fiercest and most devouring of all the tribe. 

He seemed to me in the water, what a savage bull 
is in a field; that paces up and down, tearing up 
the earth and sods with his hoofs, lashing his sides 
with his tail, and seeking some one on whom to vent 
nis rage. As I looked at the cruel fish (and he gave 
us opportunities to observe him at leisure,) I felt more 
real gratitude in my heart, than for many a long year, 
to our Father who is in heaven, and rules all things 
above and below, for preserving us from such a mon- 
ster when we were just about to rush^into his jaws. 

We now aited only for Prodgers : as to the rest of 
us, we were anxious, some more and some less, the 
priest should teach us how to pray. I had well-nigh 
said, the shark taught us with as great eflTect ; for he 
kept moving about full in view, as though he were a 
living witness, before our very eyes, of the good provi- 
dence of God to us sinners. And this worked in Rich- 
ard^s mind, till he, too, could resist no longer. 


THB CATHOLIC CBCSOl. 


108 


He rubbed his eye with the back of his hard hand, 
and slowly went down on one knee, as if he would 
have helped it if he could, but was pressed down by 
some angel’s hand upon his shoulder. Only, I must 
remark as the priest’s prayer continued, Richard went 
down on both knees, like the rest of us. 


CHAPTER XV. 

PBAYEB HINDEES NO WOBK. 

Don Manuel knew human nature too well to make 
this first prayer of ours a long one. But he poured 
out such fervent gratitude for the mercies we had 
received, and so humbly begged pardon for our 
want of thankfulness; he made for us such pro- 
testation of amendment, he put our good resolu- 
tions into such simple, glowing language, that our 
very hearts went along with every word: and at 
last there was no mistaking the men, that they were 
subdued and softened to a degree. All these rough 
sea-faring men wept like very children before the 
priest concluded ; and I believe every one of us now 
felt a pure pleasure in acknowledging our sins and 
the divine mercies, that we had been strangers to for 
years, if indeed we had ever felt it before. I only 
know I was in a manner transported out of myself : 
a new world was opening itself to me ; from my in- 
most heart there rose the desire, “ Oh I that this may 


104 THK ADYENTURIS Of OWEN STANS, 

continue !” Then I turned it into a prayer : “ Good 
Lord, let not all this pass away again 1” 

But the voice of the priest ceased ; and there was 
silence among us : so deep that we could hear 
(though we heeded it not) the ripple of the water 
that was flowing into the cave where some of us had 
BO nigh found a cruel death. Every one staid on his 
knees, as though he were afraid to break that newly- 
found holy calm. And, as I stole a glance round on 
them, surprised at this, I saw most of the number 
with their eyes closed, as men who pray to themselves, 
or pondered on what they had heard. 

It may be as surprising to others as (I own) it 
was to me, to And a change like this wrought upon 
such rude hearts, and in so brief a space. But they 
that will put all things together ; as, our double es- 
cape, first from the ship, then from this monster of 
the deep, together with the plenty and comfortable 
prospects (by comparison) we had found on this is- 
land, our security from savages, as also the influence 
Don Manuel had gained over us all, and solitude it- 
self, the nurse of devotion and calm thoughts : — I 
say, let any one sum up the total of this, and he will, 
in some measure, cease to wonder at what I have now 
recorded. 

Be that as it may, before wearied of our new em- 
ployment, the priest stood up from his knees again ; 
and, turning to Prodgers, who chanced to be next 
him ; “ My dear brother,” says he, “ we have given 
thanks, and confessed our sins, to our common Cre- 
ator and Lord : and now let me beg your pardon al- 
io, and through you to the rest, for any want of 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


m 


good example I may have given you since we have 
known each other. You have heard,” added he, 
with a little smile, “ and heard often, I dare say, of 
people confessing to the priest ; well, as you do not 
do this, here is the priest confessing to the people.” 
So saying, he laid his hands on Prodgers’ shoulders, 
and embraced him in the Spanish fashion. 

“ Oh, sir,” faltered out Prodgers, and was scarcely 
able to speak, for his voice betrayed his emotion, 
whether he would or not ; “ we Ve never seen any- 
thing in you. Pm sure, but what was good.” And 
a murmur went round the rest, echoing the same. 

“Nay,” says Don Manuel, in his cheerful way, 
“ we will not carry this on, friends, any further. But 
at least shake hands all round ; and, as you prom- 
ised to stand by one another as companions in mis- 
fortune, do so now all the more as companions in 
consolation and prayer.” 

Never, I believe, or seldom, was there such a shak- 
ing of hands in Europe or out of it. The men all 
joined in a ring, and grasped each other’s hands 
hard, while the tears stood in their eyes, and they 
looked upward. At last Hilton, to express himself, 
or get rid of what weighed on his heart, quavered 
out part of a hymn he had once heard (I suppose) in 
some church or other: 

“ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, 

Praise Him, all creatures ” — 

but he could get no further : for his voice shook, and 
there was a silence again. 

“ Now, friends,” cried Don Manuel in a spiightly 
tone, “ having done this, for which 1 humbly thank 


106 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

God from my heart, let us think of our good friend, 
the shark yonder. ’Tis time to look after him, for 
he has been very patient to wait for us all this 
whUe.” 

We caught up our guns, eager for the sport : and 
were marching down to the shore, when all at once 
I bethought me. “ Halt !” cried I ; “ though I do 
not take this gentleman to be one of your timorous 
kind among fishes, like a shy trout in a pool, that 
hides himself among weeds and stones, yet there 
may be such a thing as frightening even a shark, af 
ter all. So let us observe some generalship, lest we 
lose him. Our best chance of killing is, to hit him 
in the head ; for otherwise, the monster has as many 
lives as a cat, and will swim off easily with all our 
bullets in him, and laugh at us as he goes.” “I 
think, though,” observed Harvey, “ it were well if 
one of us aimed at the heart or so, to have a double 
chance with him.” “ But how will you get at his 
heart ?” asked Harry Gill ; “ for he’s a sturdy sort of 
fellow, mind ; and I don’t think,” he added, letting 
his carelessness get the better of him again, “ you’ll 
be likely to soften him as we were, by asking him ” 
— ^Don Manuel laid his hand, quite friendly, on his 
shoulder, and Gill stopped at once, reddened, and 
looked down. 

“ The only way,” said the priest, without a pause, 
saving Harry from this little confusion being noticed, 
“the only way to hit him in the body, while he 
keeps under water, is to fire into the water, a little 
on this side of him.” “ Why so ?” asks Prodgers, 
questioning everything again, though not in his fop- 


THB OATHOLIO OBUSOB. 


107 


mer rough way. “ Because,” answered the Don, 
“ by that means you make the water convey your 
bullet at an angle to the mark you would hit, which 
it does almost as free and forcibly as the air it- 
self.” 

“ Like the gun that could shoot round a comer,” 
says Hilton, laughing. “ And so it could,” replied, 
the priest, good humouredly, “ if there was a wall, 
or tree, at the corner, for the ball to glance from. 
Did you never hear how William Rufus met his 
death ?” 

“ I never heard of him at all,” says Hilton. 


CHAPTER XYL 

WE FIEB INTO THE ENEHY’S CAMP, AND RETREAT TO 
OUR OWN. 

The shark, all this time, showed himself no ways 
disposed to get out of our reach. On the contrary, 
I think he had caught a sight of us, and was wait- 
ing to see what chance he had of making a supper 
off some of our number: this I judged from his lift- 
ing his head ever and again over the water, turning 
his eye in our direction ; for it must be observed, 
the shark can turn his eye every way, like a human 
creature, which gives him that cruel look he has, as 
though he meant mischief. We thanked him for his 
good intentions, but resolved to be even with him. 


108 THE ADTENTURSB OF OWEN EVANS, 

jf we could any way compass it. So we formed our 
plan of attack as follows : 

Harry Gill was to get out on the ledge of the rock 
from which Harvey had seen the skeleton in the 
shallow ; only he was to go further out from the 
cove, to he ready to cut off the enemy’s retreat, 
should we only succeed in wounding him ; and to 
give his worship a parting salute, to finish him off. 
This being agreed on, Harry started, to take up his 
post, and be in readiness : but we called out to him 
to beware of his footing, and keep away from the 
edge (the sea-weed being as slippery hereabouts as 
on the other side of the island); lest a false step 
should bring him more than a ducking, and cast him 
into the jaws of this monster, who kept his eye on 
him all the while as he drew nearer, and swam near- 
er himself also, edging towards the low reef of rocks 
on which Gill was picking his way. However, we 
needed not to caution him ; for the danger was full 
in view, and he went on steadily, till he judged he 
had got far enough out from the strand of our cove. 
Then he stood still, and looked back to us, waving 
his hand. 

As for the rest, we drew up in a line ready to give 
our shark a volley on the first sign of his sheering 
off But while we waited for the moment to fire 
Don Manuel came in again with a word of counsel. 

“ Throw him, friends,” said he, “ a piece of the 
monkey, and then fire at his heart as he turns to 
seize it.” 

So said, so done. Prodgers, who had the best 
right to claim the beast he had shot, took up a leg 


THB OATHOLIO OBUBOS. 


109 


and pitched it into the water with a good splash, and 
the bait fell in, about half-way between the fish and 
the strand ; but no sooner had it touched the water 
than our friend the shark darted at it like a cat after 
a mouse, dashing the sea into foam as he swam to it. 
“ Now, be ready 1” cried Don Manuel, and we lev- 
elled our pieces at once. We had not to wait an 
instant ; for the shark, after trying to gorge the 
bait as he darted at it, turned on his side to take it 
into his jaws; and then the under side of this huge 
fish was a fair mark for our bullets. 

“ Fire !” shouted I, and pulled my trigger. So 
did the rest, with great steadiness; and thus the 
two fowling pieces and my rifle (for we had loaded 
tJie old condemned piece for this turn,) were all dis- 
charged at once ; and all took efiect, as we found 
afterwards. 

It was getting so dark, the sun being now sunk 
on the other side of the island, as we judged bv 
the loss of light, that we could just see the white- 
ness of the creature’s side as he turned to gorge 
his prey, and the flashing of the water as we hit 
him. But we could hear, plain enough, the kind of 
snort he gave, from pain and rage, as he shot off 
towards the open sea on receiving our charge. It 
was plain, also, as we saw from the motion of the 
back-fin above the water level, that he swam feebly ; 
indeed, spite of the great strength and power of life 
possessed by this monster, he must have been bad- 
ly wounded, what with my rifle ball, and the large 
shot from the other pieces. 

“ Now, Gill I now, Harry I” cried out every one, as 


110 


TH* ADTENTURKS OF OWEN ETANS, 


the enemy sheared off from us : “ don’t let him go, 
man ! Why won’t you fire ? Like a land-lubber af 
you are,” added Prodgers, in a heat. 

But Gill took steady aim, kneeling on one knee^ 
and propped his gun securely ; then, as the fish went 
by him, he delivered his fire like a true marksman — 
aiming at his head. There came another kind of 
bubbling snort, louder than the first ; and the shark 
dived, or sank under water, we could not tell which. 

“ ’Tis all over for to-night,” observed Hilton ; and 
so indeed it was, for we could scarce see the length 
of the muzzle as we pointed our guns ; and there be- 
ing no moon at this time, the sooner we prepared to 
encamp again, the better for us. So we followed our 
plan of last night ; gathering our brushwood, though 
we found it not in such plenty on this part of the 
island, nor of such good stuff to burn readily. 
When this was lit, we unpacked our supper, and 
spread it on the ground. Then, what with the mon- 
key, which we ate (I must say) with our eyes shut 
and wry faces, what with the remains of our peccary 
and bread-fruit, helped also by the cocoa nuts, we 
made out our meal pretty well. But all our talk 
was of the sea-monster, and what chance we had of 
finding him in the morning. Gill made sure of hav- 
ing hit him in the head ; and indeed I hoped so too, 
from the noise he made, and his going down at once 
on getting the shot. “ That,” said Hilton, “ with 
what he had got before from the rest of us, would be 
enough to settle him quietly.” Tom Harvey thought 
he had managed to get out to sea : and so, though 
he might be dead as a door-nail, we should be 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOE. 


Ill 


none the better of him. “Well,” said I, taking up 
the matter, “ if we get him after all, he will be no 
small prize in many ways.” “ What will he serve 
for,” asked Prodgers, “ more than to rid ns of one 
enemy, while there may be more of his tribe cruis- 
ing on the ame tack ?” 

On this I told them, if we could capture our fish 
to-morrow, he would serve many useful ends at 
once. First, his teeth would furnish us with more 
arrow-heads ; and added to the stock we had, would 
fill our quivers, had we been so many Tartars. Then 
the liver is known to yield an abundance of oil, 
sometimes to several gallons. “ If only we were 
Russians instead of Tartars,” says Gill, “ that would 
do well enough.” “ Besides,” continued I, “ if we 
can anyhow contrive to skin him, his rough skin will 
make shagreen for us, that will come in useful for 
more things than I can tell at this moment. And 
his bones will turn into several tools we can hardly 
do without, as gimlets, files, pincers, and I know 
not what.” 

In a word, like many housewives, more eager 
than experienced, reckoning their chickens before 
they are hatched, we disposed of our shark, all to his 
bones, while as yet we knew not if we should ever 
see him again. And, having thus cut him up and 
finished him, we finished our supper likewise. 

“ Now, my dear fiiends,” says Don Manuel, “ we 
have proclaimed ourselves this day to be Christ- 
ians, with a sense of gratitude in our hearts ; and 
we shall go to rest as Christians, I am sure of it” 

This time, ’twas no new idea to us to fall to 


112 


THE ADV1NTURB8 OF OWEN EYANg, 


our prayers. Our good priest knelt down, making 
the sign of the cross on his forehead and breast 
wherein, I observed, Hilton tried to do like him, 
though awkwardly enough. Then Don Manuel, 
adoring the presence of God, and thanking Him 
anew for His protection of us, proceeded to ex- 
amine his conscience aloud, while we listened on 
onr knees, wondering ; this being a thing stranger 
to us even than prayer. He asked himself how hfl 
had spent that day ; did he give his first thoughts to 
God ? — how often had he recalled the divine pres- 
ence ? — what had been his thoughts, his words, hi» 
actions? — had he carefully kept himself from sin. 
whether of anger or any other kind (here old Prodg 
ers gave a gruff sort of “ hem !” that nearly set Hil- 
ton off laughing) had he considered others with cha- 
rity, or provoked them to offend God ? (and at this 
Harry Gill got rather red ;) and so on through a few 
other questions, which were almost as strange to us 
as though he were speaking a foreign tongue. Then 
lastly, the priest asked himself what were his reso- 
lutions for the time to come, if his life was spaied 
through the night ? — did he detest his sins because 
they were displeasing to the good God ? and break- 
ing forth with fervor, he then said, 

“ O my God ! I am heartily sorry for having of- 
fended Thee ; and I detest my sins most sincerely, 
because they are displeasing to Thee, my God ! who 
art so deserving of all my love for Thy infinite good- 
ness and most amiable perfections : and I fiimly 
purpose, by the help of Thy grace, never more to 


THE CATHOLIC CRCSOE. 


118 


offend Thee, and carefully to avoid all occasions of 
sin.” 

With our souls thus refreshed by prayer, we set- 
tled down to refresh our bodies witli sleep ; and to 
begin, stirred our fire, though we now felt more se- 
cure against wild beasts; yet, on these lew first 
nights of our dwelling in this strange place we used 
it as a precaution, though more than was needlul, 
and that we might go to rest without an anxious 
thought or care. Then, gathering round it as we 
had the night before, we lay down in full confi- 
dence, and most of us were sound asleep in a short 
space ; only that Don Manuel stepped aside to finish 
his prayers by himself. 


CHAPTER XYII. 

FIRB-SIDE TALK. 

I HAVE noted these particulars of our two first 
days in this place of our banishment, for as much as 
they remained fresh in the memory of us all for a 
long time after; but no one will expect (should this 
record of the misery of six poor men ever chance to 
fall into other hands) tliat I am to go on recording 
the after part of our exile with a like fulness. — 
Much of our time henceforward went by, one day so 
like another, that it were tedious to put down at 
any length what befel us as it happened. Indeed, 
one of my chief cares which I imparted to my kind 


114 IH« ADTENTURIS OF OWEN EVANS, 

counsellor the priest (for our two heads, I must say, 
had to think for the rest,) was, how to employ the 
men, and how to keep them amused. ’Tis true, we 
had (one would think) enough to occupy our time ; 
for we had to build, to plant, to snare and tame ani- 
mals for our support ; to fish, whether angling, or 
with such rude nets as we might make shift to con- 
trive ; to practise shooting with arrows and jave- 
lins when our powder was out : lastly, we had to 
invent some method of weaving, however miserable 
stuffs, to supply us with clothes. By these needfiil 
employments the time would not hang heavy, could 
we but persuade the men to keep up to their work 
and live in peace with one another. This last thought 
was, indeed, the one most on my mind, how to 
preserve harmony amongst us. For a short time 
had shown how ready the men were each to indulge 
his humors at the expense of his fellows ; and how 
soon, with their uncurbed passions, provided with 
fire-arms as they were, some deadly feud might 
spring up to plunge our small society into war, 
and give our island its first taste of blood. 

As I sat by the watch-fire, I mused in this fash- 
ion till I was weary of thinking alone, and felt glad 
whin Don Manuel stepped again into the circle of 
the fire-light, and spread his cloak for his night’s 
rest. I asked him if he was too inclined for sleep 
to talk with me a while ; then stated to him all that 
was in my thoughts. 

“Well, friend,” says he, cheerfully, as was hi« 
wont ; for of all men I ever knew, he was, I think, 
the cheerfulest : seldom laughing out loud, as the 


tHK OATHOLIO ORUSOK. 


115 


rest would when the fit took them, but as seldom 
(after our first great trial) looking any ways down- 
cast, and never sour or stern ; “ well,” says he, “ for 
quarrels, you see we have been able to build up 
something of a wall against them.” 

I could not for the life of me make out what he 
meant by a wall ; and looking at him to explain 
himself : “ why, to be sure,” says he, “ by beginning 
to pray, and pray together.” 

“ I must confess, sir,” answered T, “ these two 
turns that we having knelt down all in a body took 
me by surprise, like a new thing, and gave me ano- 
ther notion altogether of what praying means.” 

“ Why, so ?” asks he, turning his face upon me 
quickly : “ you haye prayed, of course, my friend, 
ever since you were a child ?” 

I felt overcome with shame to be thought of so 
much better than I deserved ; and to have it taken 
for granted I had done what I knew myself to have 
been far enough from doing. But Don Manuel 
went on, without taking notice of my silence ; and 
as if he spoke to himself, part to me : 

“ Prayer,” is the elevation or lifting of the soul to 
God. Now, the higher the soul is lifted, the nearer 
it draws to Him ; and the nearer it draws, the more 
like Him does it grow : then, you see, as God is eternal 
tranquillity and peace, so man, when he begins to pray, 
begins to know peace; and knowing peace m himself, 
loves to be at peace with others. He gets one de- 
gree, say, of this blessed love of peace when he prays 
once ; and is likely to get another degree of it the 
next time he prays, and so on : just as a mason or 


116 the ADVENTUEBS of OWEN EVANS, 

bricklayer lays one course of stones or bricks for his 
wall, then another again, resting on that. At last, 
the soul gains a confirmed habit of peace, and feels 
a great pain at being out of peace, with any one, or 
witnessing any breach of peace or charity : and this 
is, as it were, like topping the whole with a coping- 
stone. So, now, that is what I call building the 
wall. Is it not good masonry, my dear friend ; and 
is it not worth while to raise such a wall against ha- 
tred, violence, misery ?” 

I could not answer him, I fairly own; for my 
heart filled again, and well nigh overflowed. I sat 
looking into the fire ; I felt the truth of all this good 
man had been saying. Yet his talk was as simple 
as a child’s, as to the manner of it : only he seemed 
to speak with much knowledge from having practised 
his doctrine, which I make no doubt he had done for 
years. After a while, I turned to him, and pursued 
our discourse : 

“ And there are some people, sir,” said I, “ who 
are not content to be at peace, but strive to make all 
others be so too.” 

He seemed a little confused, as if I had said what 
he did not know how to answer, and did not like to 
hear addressed to him. 

“ Yesterday,” continued he, as if to turn it off, 
“ when we were going up that mountain, we got 
into clearer air the higher we went, and could see 
further on every side of us. If any one asked you 
why, you would answer: of course, because we were 
higher up. And so it is with our souls likewise. 
When we struggle against the power of things pro#- 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


117 


ent that would draw us away from God, be they in 
the way of pleasure, or anger, or what you will, we 
are climbing up the mountain ; sometimes with dif- 
ficulty and pain, in spite of many weights that 
would drag us down again. When we pray, we are 
climbing When we give up to others for peace 
— when we are obliged to stand against others for 
principle — when we do good to others for charity — 
we are climbing. The oftener we do these things, 
the higher we climb, and the stronger. The higher 
we climb, the more pleasant is the exertion, and the 
more delightful the prospect. I will give you some 
lines, written by a poor heathen as much as two 
thousand five hundred years ago ; and then reflect, 
if even he could see all this so clearly, what ought we 
Christians to think about it ?” 

Then he repeated, with his strong foreign ac- 
cent : 

“ Baseness is easy, chosen by the throng, 

Nor rough the way, nor far to seek, nor long : 
Severer toil th’ immortal gods have given 
To fence the narrow way that leads to heaven, 

All strait and steep, until the height be won ; 

Then with a gentler toil it leads the traveller on.” 

“ You see,” continued Don Manuel, when he had 
concluded his lines, a poor man who had so little 
idea of the One true God that he calls his idols ‘ the 
immortal gods,’ still knew something, at least, of the 
truth we speak of. Reason carried him a certain 
way ; though by virtue he only meant a proud con- 
formity of the life to the natural conscience ; and 
knew nothing of that charity which is the true fulfil- 
ling of the law.” 


118 THB ADTBNTUEES of OWBN ITANg, 

“ Nothing of charity ?” asked L 

“ Certainly not,” answered the priest, “ for charity 
ig a Christian virtue, and follows upon faith.” 

“ Faith ?” pursued I, as if I were determined tc 
make objections : “ but then you, sir, as a Catholic, 
would say that we who are not so, cannot have 
faith ?” 

“ You cannot, indeed, my dear friend,” answered 
he, looking at me with much concern in his face — 
“ and the greater pity for you. But you may have 
several things like it, or leading the way to it, or 
producing some of its effects.” 

I looked at him as if I did not understand him, 
which indeed I did not. 

“We are both too tired now,” said he, giving a 
little yawn, “ to follow this much further. But you 
may have the beginning of faith, or what is a prepar- 
ation for it, or what is borrowed from its teachings to 
its own disciples ; and so may do the same things to 
some extent as if you had faith, by a kind of imita* 
tioiL* 


TBE OATHOLIO 0RU80S. 


119 


CHAPTER XVm. 

A PEW LITTLE DEBTS. 

Op course I was not satisfied, and he saw it. 

“ If, now,” pursued he, looking upward, ‘‘ we had 
a moon at this time, which we have not, and it were 
shining over our heads, it would be very bright — 
would it not, and very beautiful, and would influ- 
ence the tides this way or that, or would light the 
traveller on his road, and serve to read by, to some 
degree ?” 

I nodded to this, but could not see his drift at all. 

“ Well, after all, would it be the sun ?” 

I smiled, and waited to hear further. 

“ Xo,” pursued Don Manuel, speaking now with 
60 much energy that he half roused some of the 
sleepers ; and Prodgers began to utter an oath or 
two in his sleep: “ No ! take that bright moon at 
her full when she is most cloudless and most power- 
ful ; and all her light is borrowed : it is a mere re- 
flection from the sun. She is herself a dark, dull 
body ; only capable of giving back and (I may say) 
reporting the light she receives from the sun, the 
fountain of all light. Take away the sun, and the 
moon would be absolutely dark, as she is in a total 
eclipse. But do I tire you with this ?” 

“ By no means, sir,” said I ; “ I do not see whith- 
er you are going, but I am anxious to follow you to 
the end.” 

I am only going to this point,” replied he, smi- 


120 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

ling ; “ that the Catholic Church, to whom alone the 
mission of teaching the nations is given, besides fully 
enlightening her children, also enlightens partly 
those who reject her. She enlightens them, so that 
they still hold, as religious opinions, some portions 
of her teaching, though not by faith, or in the right 
way. They get light from her, as the moon from the 
sun, by reflection. The faintest glimmer of twilight 
or a meteor that shoots and expires, is better than 
total gloom ; and a reflected light, though imper- 
fect, is light as far as it goes. So the Church has 
lower and lesser benefits for those who will not ac- 
cept her best gifts ; and at every turn makes many 
her true debtors who least acknowledge the debt. 
But come ; it is time to snatch a few hours’ sleep.” 

“ Stay one moment, sir, I beg you,” cried I again, 
as he was settling himself to rest. “ What you say 
moves me very much, I can tell you. I do not half- 
understand it, though. Will you give me an instance 
of what you mean ? What have we borrowed from 
your Catholic Church ?” 

Don Manuel reckoned up on his fingers. 

“ First,” said he, “ the sacred Scriptures them- 
selves ; for without the authority of the Church you 
would not know which of the various writings were 
inspired, even of those you acknowledge.” 

“ Do not interrupt me now,” added he, with a 
good-natured look, “ if you wish me to go through 
my list ; for ’tis getting too late to do more than 
just read it through. Let me go on. Secondly, 
you owe to us the change from the seventh day to 
the first day of the week, as a day to be kept holy • 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


121 


and if it were not for that, you would he grievously 
breaking one of the commandments every Saturday, 
and practismg a vain observance every Sunday.” 

This staggered me, I confess ; for, little as I had 
observed the Sunday for many years, except to idle 
it away, I did not forget the words of the command- 
ment, “ Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day 

. . . the seventh day thou shalt do no manner 

of work.” 

“ Thirdly,” he went on, “but indeed I should have 
put it first, you owe to us, as far as you really hold 
them, the true doctrines of the most Holy Trinity 
and the Incarnation.” 

“ Hay, now, sir,” cried I, breaking in with some 
vexation, and feelmg angry with him for the first 
time since our acquaintance ; “ how can you say we 
owe this to you ? Why, ’tis a part of our teaching 
too, Pve always heard ” 

“ Remind me as early to-morrow as you like,” 
answered the priest, gently, of the two names, Sa* 
bellius and Hestorius ; and I will explain my mean- 
ing. Would you like me to finish my catalogue?” 

I made a sign, not a very gracious one — for I 
was much put out by what he had said. 

“Fourthly, then,” continued he, “though I fear 
to vex you again by mentioning it, you owe to us 
the rest of . all that is found in the Creeds, the Apos- 
tles’ and the Hicene, as well as the Athanasian.” 

“ Fifthly, ’t is only by authority of the Catholic 
Church that you have ventured to-day to taste of 
the peccary and the bustard, or the monkey, without 
fear of sin.” 


122 THB ABTENTURES OF OWEN ETAN8, 

By this, I quite thought he was laughing at m« ; 
no sooner did he see it in my countenance, than he 
came nearer, and laid his hand on my shoulder as I 
sat, saying : 

“You do not suppose I would jest in that way? 
I was never more serious. It would take some time 
to explain what I mean : only remember, in a word, 
there was a divine command against eating flesh with 
the blood in it, issued before the law of Moses, and 
continued after it by the Apostles.* Now, unless 
the Church can pronounce that the command was 
not always to bind, you are bound by it at this 
moment. The Council of Jerusalem enforced it on 
the disciples, who were freed from the Mosaic law 
But if you are bound by it, you have been guilty 
of a grievous sin this day, and most days of your 
life, as I have stated. That is what I mean ; and 
thus, your release from that law of not eating blood 
with the meat makes your flfth obligation to the 
Catholic Church.” 

I could not have kept anger in my heart against 
him, so simple and frank was he ; even had he in- 
tended a jest upon me : but this I now felt sure he 
did not. So I at once begged him to go on, and 
all my old trust in him revived. 

“ I’ve come to the little finger of my left hand,” 
says he, smiling, “ and give you warning, friend, I 
will not go beyond the middle finger of the other. 
Three more points, and then I go to sleep.” 

“ In the sixth place : do you not owe to the Catho- 
lic Church whatever benefit you think you have had 

♦ S«e Gen. iv. 4 ; Acts, xv. 20, 29.— Ed. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


128 


from Confirmation, if you have been confirmed? for 
she pronounces it a sacrament, and they who say 
otherwise, have kept it as a form.” 

“ Seventhly ; as you (or your teachers) think you 
have among you a Christian ministry, handed down 
from the Apostles : though I could not honestly say 
you have, yet if you had, you could only have it 
from us, as your learned writers acknowledge, nay, 
maintain tooth and nail, as their best chanca 

“ Eighthly — and last : if it is not from the Catho- 
lics, whence do you get your solemn cathedrals, 
that you make so little use of ; your beautiful parish 
churches, each with the title of a Catholic saint j 
your stately colleges and halls of learning, whose 
very names, as Corpus Christi, St. Mary’s, All Souls’ 
Peterhouse, prove they come from us ; your ancient 
almshouses, where even now, a dole is given daily 
(l am told*) to the wayfarer and the mendicant, as 
was once done at every convent gate; your fasts 
and festivals, neither of which you keep ; your 
ruined abbeys which you visit on parties of pleasure ; 
your healing springs, that cure even those who be- 
lieve them to be nothing but chalybeate or medicinal 
waters ; and so on, down to the market-crosses in 
your provincial towns, which afford a pedestal for 
the town clock, and a shelter for the town crier with 
lis bell on rainy days ? 

“ That is enough for to-night,” added he, yawning 
a little again : “ so I omit Magna Charta, Habeas 

* This is at least the case at the aucient hospital or 
terv of Holy Cross near Winchester, at the g^ate of which (by 
antient deed) a piece of bread and cup of beer may be dally 
claimed by every wayfarer. 


124 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANb, 

Corpus, and the other great bulwarks of the British 
Constitution, together with the whole banking sys* 
tern, that would keep us up till midnight. So now, 
wholesome slumbers and the blessing of God.” 

The priest wrapped himself in his cloak ; and, 
making again the sign of the cross, nodded to me 
with a kind look, and was soon quietly asleep. 


CHAPTER XIX 

WB GAIN OUE PKIZE. 

But as for me, I sat there by the fire, thinking on 
what the priest had said ; and found much in it was 
very new to me, and some thmgs I wished to find 
an answer to and could not : until I dropped off in 
my turn. 

We were woke in the morning by a shouting that 
caused us all to spring on our feet; we caught up 
our guns, and looked at once to the priming, to be 
ready against surprise. Our first thought was of 
savages, who might have landed in the night; but 
looking round, seeing Hilton was not among us, we 
listened again, and presently knew it was his voioe 
that shouted to us from the cave. So we ran down 
to him, eager to get some news of the shark; for 
that, we judged, was the meaning of the noise he 
made. 

So soon as we got clear of the trees where we had 
•jucamped the night before, we saw the shark indeed^ 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


125 


floating quite dead (as it seemed), about a quarter 
of a mile off shore, and Ned Hilton almost beside 
himself with joy; he danced on the sand with extra- 
vagant gestures ; he sang snatches of a sea song , 
then he shouted, now to us to come quick, now to 
the shark, inviting him to land : in short, I thought 
he had taken leave of his wits, so like a senseless 
creature did he behave himself. But it is to be 
considered, the interest we take in the objects round 
us is measured by the employment we have for our 
thoughts ; and I have read of a poor prisoner, chained 
for many years in a dark dungeon, who by great 
patience had tamed a spider in his cell, so that the 
creature would come to him, when he whistled to it, 
out of a crack in the wall ; and how fond he grew of 
it, and made it a companion : how the brutal gaoler, 
finding what delight the poor man took in this rep- 
tile, shook it on the ground one day when he came 
in and crushed it with his foot; also how the man 
took it to heart, and was like to pine for the loss of 
his friend the spider. So that our poor Ned was to 
be excused for the excess of spirits he showed when 
the shark came floating back to us again : indeed, I 
believe he was as oveijoyed at this discovery as ever 
a needy man who found in his garden a pot full of 
guineas to pay his debts with. 

But our concern was now, to possess ourselves of 
this monster, and bring him to land. First, we could 
not be sure he was truly dead : for these creatures 
keep their life in them so long, and against all ap- 
pearance, that I judged it foolhardy for any one to 
Bwim out to him and fasten a twine around him, which 


126 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

was what 'Hilton proposed, but I would by no meant 
consent to. After awhile, we had the satisfaction to 
see the tide was now setting in for the cove ; and we 
had only to wait till the carcass should drift in near- 
er. But I proposed to try with the rifle (as the only 
piece among us that would touch him at that dis- 
tance), if he were dead beyond a doubt : and I com- 
plimented Harry Gill by oflering him the first shot at 
our enemy. So Gill began by marking the bullet, 
to know it again when we had gained our prize 
then taking good aim, fired and hit him, again (as we 
judged) under the side-fin ; but he stirred not, nor 
gave sign of life ; whereby we knew him for dead, 
and gave a cheer for Harry Gill, whose shot had 
killed him yesternight. 

I raised no objection now to any of our number 
swimming off to take the shark in tow. Only I 
begged, whoever went would have a care, and keep 
clear both of the jaws and tail of the fish ; it being 
known that a stroke from the tail of a shark would 
kill a man, though the fish be but in a dying con- 
vulsion. But they all seemed content to wait till 
the tide should bring him in, which it did nearer at 
every beat of the waves ; a little wind blowing at 
the time up the cove. As he lay broadside on, he 
came drifting in heavily, till we could measure him 
with our eyes : then we discovered he was indeed a 
monstrous fish, and a good deal bigger than the 
skeleton that lay in the shallow. We judged him 
well nigh thirty feet in length, as it afterwards 
proved when he came to land. And, to be short 
the tide soon brought him so near, that the four men 


THB OATHOLIO CBU801. 


12T 


waded into the water with the handspike, and Don 
Manuel’s walking staff, together with some branches 
they tore from the trees and stripped with their 
knives. By help of these, they managed to turn the 
shark’s head in-shore, and so waited till the tide 
should ground him, which it did about half an hour 
after our shot. 


CHAPTER XX. 

BLOWN INTO HARBOR. 

We were favored by the wind, which still kept 
blowing up the cove, and indeed freshened as the 
morning advanced : for, had it not, I believe we had 
never got our piize high enough on shore to be of 
much use to us. And, to be short, the wind in- 
creased so much upon us within half an hour after 
the shark touched land, as made us look out for a 
squall ; but truly, when it came, ’twas no squall, but 
a hurricane instead. The sky grew blacker in the 
offing than ever I saw it in my country on a dark 
day in November; on every side the sea-birds flew 
screaming in, and swept close by us, so that, had we 
had nothing else on hands, we could have knocked 
them over with our staves, and the power of the 
wind was such as bent some palm trees near the 
shore as though they had been so many saplings, or 
whips of osier. 

Our only safety now was to throw ourselves flat 


128 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN STANS, 

on our faces, which we all did at once, but not 
fore the wind had twirled away Prodgers’ hat, and 
sent it high in the air, so that we found it not for 
near a se’ennight after, in a banana tree some half 
mile (I am sure) from the place we were in. But 
now was no moment for grumbling, or thinking of 
hats ; for the storm waxed to an awful pitch, as it 
does in the tropics when it bursts in earnest. 

What with the rendmg of the branches of trees, 
and roar of the waves that now came driving up our 
cove as fleet as a race-horse, and raging like a tiger 
tossing their foam high as the very trees and drench 
ing us with the spray, and what with the thunder of 
the surf that broke on the coral reef outside our lit- 
tle harbor, the scene was beyond anything I can put 
down on paper. The tide washed up so near the 
place where we had anchored ourselves at full 
length, we were no longer safe in staying there. I 
began to think the third wave, as they say the third 
wave is ever the highest, would suck us back into 
the. wild sea. So, choosing a moment when there 
seemed a lull, or at least the wind not being so rag- 
ing as before, we were up and scudding before the 
storm, till we reached some underwood that lay per- 
haps some two hundred yards in-shore ; yet not un- 
der the higher trees, for that we dreaded, lest they 
should be tom up, or their branches rent off, and fall 
on us, and so crush us out of life. 

As to our prize that we had been so anxious to se- 
cure one short hour before this tempest broke upon 
our heads, we thought of it so little, that I believe all 
the sharks that ever swam might have floated out to 


THU CATHOLIC CRCSOS. 


12S 


seaward, without our bestowing a thought on their 
loss to us. So important do things appear to us poor 
mortals, till something more weighty comes in, to 
wipe them clean out of our minds ! 

But this was not all ; for the rain, or water-spout 
rather, began now to pour down upon us in a deluge 
so that we were forced from our brushwood would 
we or no, and driven to seek some shelter, though 
already we had not a dry stitch on us, a thing woe- 
ful enough, seeing we had no change of garments 
awaiting us in this wide world. We dragged our 
way, so well as we might, the force of the wind not 
abating, into the wood ; holding on by the bushes, 
till we were sheltered by the trees, cocoa and bana- 
na, with others, that grew pretty thick hereabouts, 
and plenty. We ran which way soever the wind 
would take us, not thinking of aught but to get free 
of this deluge of rain ; however, we guessed at the 
time, we were making for the ridge, or back-bone of 
rock that formed the south end of this island. 

’Twas not long before we saw the upper parts of 
it towering above our heads ; and the trees that 
crowned it, bending ahd swaying every way under 
the tornado of wind ; then, working our way some- 
what further, we got under this wall of rock, which 
rose sheer up, much like to the side of a house. But 
what comforted us most, was to see, about twenty 
steps as you turned to the left, a mass or crag of 
rock that had fallen, I suppose, from the height, or 
been split off from the main part of the cliff by some 
earthquake. This bent over to the cliff it had been 
lorn from, at an angle, so that the upper part I 


180 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

guessed to be witliin eight feet of it, while the base 
was at least as many yards distant from the cliff: it 
looked dangerous, as though it would fall upon us 
if we got under it : till we considered again, it must 
have hung in that way for many ages, forasmuch as 
trees of a large growth had sprung up between the 
two portions of rock ; besides, the fallen mass was 
covered with shrubs that grew upright on it, feather- 
ing to its very top. 

“ Here,” says Don Manuel, looking about him, “ is 
our shelter till the hurricane be past ; and I see not 
but it may be so for many a day to come : for where 
will you find,” continued he, “ a better shelter than 
this rock over head ? See, no drop of the pelting 
rain hath reached us: then, the trees round about 
will be both shade and defence, and we could so 
plant ourselves out from the world that neither sav- 
age nor wild beast could find out our hiding-place.” 

“ Aye, but,” persisted Gill, going back to his first 
idea, “ we have no view here of the sea ; a ship might 
touch at the island, and send her boat ashore, and 
we be none tlie wiser, and lose our chance.” 

“ I see a way out of that,” says Tom Harvey, “ for 
*tis easy to climb this rock, and so to the cliff over- 
head : then we shall have a clear look-out on both 
sides.” 

“ You’ve hit it, messmate,” cried Hilton, clapping 
him on the shoulder, “ so here goes for a scramble.” 
With that, he sprang up the rock, by the help of the 
roots of the brushwood that grew on it, as he would 
up the shrouds of a ship. Harvey was after him, 
and we all followed ; for by this time the worst of 


tttl CATHOLIC GttUSOB. 


ISI 


the hurricane was over, though the vi md moaned, 
and the waves were lashing in fury, as high as ever. 
But we were so wet we feared neither rain or spray. 

From the top of our rock on to the cliff was an 
easy leap ; for, as I said, the distance at top was not 
more than seven or eight feet, and there was a little 
dent or landing place in the cliff opposite, worn by 
rain, or a torrent, or sawn out by the branches ; it 
gave us sure footing, so we sprang across without a 
second thought. Then a smart climb brought us to 
the rocky look-out, from which we could sweep the 
horizon round, stopped only by our volcano (so I 
called it always) to the north of the island. We gave 
a glance out to westward of our little kingdom ; but 
all was quiet there, at least by comparison ; for this 
gale had come upon us from east-by-south, or from 
that to due east. Harvey begged for the loan of my 
glass : then laid himself down flat, pulled his hat 
over his brows, and then looked out in the wind’s 
eye. 


CHAPTER XXI. 

A NBW ARRIVAL. 

In' a minute or two I heard him say softly to him- 
self, “There’s something out there in the offing 1 
cannot make out. Is it another big shark, or what ?” 
Then, after looking long and steady, he jumped up- 
and shouted out, “ Boat ahoy !” 

I do believe, had a dead man spoken, we could 


i32 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVAN8, 

scarce have been more taken aback than by this cry 
of Tom Harvey’s. All were on the alert, and Prod- 
gers and Gill scuffled for the glass between them — 
but Tom gave it back to me, while I lay down flat 
to take an observation of the unlooked-for stranger. 
It was indeed a boat, I well saw, but of what kind I 
could not so well distinguish ; only, from the prow 
of it running up (so far as I could judge while it 
sported like a feather on the angry waves) into a 
high peak, like the Indian canoes of the South Seas, 
I set it down for no boat built in Europe or the col- 
onies. It came driving in; and first through the 
glass, then with the naked eye, we could see men in 
It ; they seemed to be three or four, but could not 
manage the boat, as was plain from the way she 
tossed and drove before the wind. So they came on 
for the coral reef, and we expected every moment to 
see her go to pieces. “ Lord, have mercy on their 
poor souls !” cried the priest, dropping on his knees. 
We all answered Amen; for the danger was so 
great we gave them up for lost, and kept looking on 
and wondered to see the boat hold out still. Only 
Don Manuel remained kneeling, and prayed on with- 
out moving. By this the boat was within a wave or 
two of the reef ; and in a few moments more a huge 
roller lifted her up, stern foremost, right over into 
our cove, with all on board : she was capsized as 
she came, and the crew flung into the boiling sea. 

At this, with a common impulse, we ran down 
again at our best speed towards the shore ; making 
for that ledge of rock on which Harvey had stood, 
as I said, when he found the dead shark that had so 


THE CATHOLIC CRCSOB. 


133 


nigh decoyed us into the jaws of the live one. For 
this point we made straight ; judging in our minds, 
as we ran, ’twould give us our best chance to deliv- 
er this ill-fated crew, who must else perish before 
our eyes in the water. The boat had been iiung 
clean over the coral reef, as you might cast a stone 
or weed over a garden wall ; she did not appear so 
much broken as might be thought, for as she came 
nearer we could observe she floated, only keel up- 
wards ; for she had a rude kind of jury-keel fas- 
tened on her, though now partly torn away. At 
least, she did not All or go down, as she would if 
the wave that sent her into the cove had been less 
full-bodied or powerful ; for then she must have 
knocked about, on and ofi* the reef, till she had either 
gone down, or fairly gone to pieces. 

But the condition of the poor souls that had man- 
ned her was scarce less desperate than if they had 
been left outside the reef. The surf was still boil- 
ing so high and wild, we could not well see how 
matters stood with these poor fellow^s ; but soon we 
saw, to our sorrow, one of them was dead already — 
for he floated, or rather was rolled over and over 
again by the furious waves, and made no motion to 
swim. For the rest, they made a struggle indeed, 
as well they might, but a weak one it was, against 
the fury of the rollers that drove over them ; two of 
these savages struck out for land, swimming man- 
fully, though every other moment thev were under 
water again. One (he seemed but a lad) clung fast 
to the canoe; this one, we thought, had the best 
chance, if only he could hold out a while longer, foi 


184 


THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


he had managed to scramble on to the keel and held 
on with the gripe of despair, while the boat came 
higher up the cove with each stroke of the waves. — 
Yet he was not the first to reach shore, neither ; foi 
by this we had made a shift to reeve our twine (the 
best cable we had) into a noose, and Harvey had 
found a branch of a tree, of a biggish thickness, but 
short, to answer the purpose of a life-buoy, though 
nidely enough. 

Having secured this log or billet, when we had 
stripped it hastily of some lesser branches and 
leaves, in the noose of our twine, we all stood as 
near as we dared to the margin of the cove, and with 
one heave hove it into the sea towards the nearest 
of the men that were struggling to reach us. The 
Indian, as we had already seen them all to be, made 
for it with his remaining strength, and after catch- 
ing it once and losing it, he caught it again and held 
it fast. Indeed it held him fast, too ; for in the con- 
fusion of the waves that boiled around him, twisting 
him about like a straw in a mill-dam, he got the 
twine around his arm, and it cut him like a knife, 
almost to the bone. But this he regarded not ; for 
what will not a man disregard when life itself is at 
stake ? besides, he was by this time so spent, I ques- 
tion if at the moment he much felt it. After all, he 
ran a chance of being strangled in the water from 
very weakness, had not Hilton and Tom Harvey 
now ^ entured in and pulled him by main force to 
land. 

Dead enough this Indian seemed to be, as the 
priest and I carried him from the surf and laid him 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOl. ISd 

on the sand ; but by chafing him some time, with 
holding his head so as to disgorge the sea water he 
had swallowed, we had the comfort to bring him to 
himselfl Then I left him to see after the other two, 
that were still struggling in the waves ; but Don 
Manuel stayed with the first one lest he should faint 
again. His fellow swimmer, as we watched him, 
had a harder escape ; we judged him older than the 
first, he swam so feebly ; and while he still had some 
little way to make, we saw him cease to strike out 
altogether, and presently he sank slowly. 

At this, the poor lad who still clung to the canoe 
set up the most dismal howl you ever heard — more 
like the cry of a wild beast at night than any sound 
from human lips. We knew not then, this old man 
was the lad’s own father ; but his cry, and the sight 
of the sinking Indian, put us all to our wits’ ends to 
save him ; but without success, had it not been for 
Tom Harvey again. 

“ Life is sweet, boys I” cried he, “ though it be 
but the life of a savage Indian. Join hands all in a 
line, and I’m foremost man at him !” Don Manuel 
came running down to take his share in the action, 
and dashed into the water, next to Harvey. Then 
came Gill, forward for anything, and so the others, 
holding hands firmly : so that Harvey, part swim- 
ming, part wading, after he had been beaten back 
once or twice, and the chain of hands all but broken 
by the waves (though by this they were subsiding 
apace) came up to the savage, whose head was now 
above water again, driving on for shore, though at 


136 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


the last gasp ; and seizing him by his long hair, 
called to the rest to haul them ashore. 

But we soon found our brave Tom had risked 
his life in more than one way to save this fellow 
creature’s ; for the sinking man, feeling something 
to grapple with, clung round Harvey with such a 
grasp as was more than Tom could do to shake off. 
In another minute, they had both surely sunk to 
gether : when Harry Gill, without more ado, caught 
Don Manuel’s staff out of his hand before he was 
aware, and dealt the Indian such a blow with it on 
the head as sent him under water again. There 
came another wild cry from the lad, who was drift- 
ing in upon his canoe ; and he sprung off it into the 
waves, to try and save his father. 

It seemed a cruel act at the time ; and doubt- 
less admitted of no defence, were it not a balance be- 
tween losing two lives without remedy, and risking 
one only. Add to this, Harvey was a Christian born 
and so a more valuable life than the savage’s ; he 
was our comrade, and the other a stranger cast upon 
our shore ; he had risked a life, too, that was in no 
danger, and that was his own to keep, for a life that 
was all but gone; and that we had a chance of 
saving, after we had rescued Tom’s. I know not 
what our priest would have said in this case ; for 
after the thing was over, it never chanced that we 
discussed it among ourselves. But putting all to- 
gether, though my first impulse was of indignation 
against Gill, yet, thinking on it after, I knew not 
how to blame him so much for what he had done 
on the spui of the moment. Be that as it will, our 


THB CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 


187 


first concern was to fish up the poor old Indian j 
which we managed at length, with no small pains ; 
and brought him to the surface, and so to land, 
dead as a door-nail, so far as we could see. 

In truth, we all were in sad case enough, when 
this was over: wet and wearied, aud chilled to 
the bone ; Tom Harvey half choked with his struggle, 
and the sea-water he had swallowed ; Don Manuel 
not much better : and, for our captives, or guests, 
call them as you may, one seemingly dead, notwith- 
standing all our chafing of his limbs, for it failed to 
bring him to ; the otlier scarce able to sit up and 
moan ; and the young savage howling and tearing 
his hair like a mad thing over the body of his father 
To look at us there on the shore, one would have 
thought a slave-ship had been wrecked in that hurri- 
cane, and we, part of the crew, with a few of the 
slaves, escaped with our lives from the boiling sea. 


CHAPTER XXn. 

DOCTORING AND PURVEYING. 

As for the second Indian, with all our skill and 
care bestowed, he came round slowly: we were 
buised, around him, Don Manuel and I, in the mode 
of regular practice, and the young savage in a rudei 
way, for he crumpled up his father’s fingers, and 
pulled his ears, enough (one would think) to make a 
very statue cry out. But it was done out of love, 


188 THE ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

to bring him to: for I never saw more concern 
expressed than in this poor creature at what he 
supposed his father’s death. Now he would kneel 
beside him on the sand, using the rude remedies I 
peak of : now he would fling himself on the body, 
weeping and howling : then he sprang up, stretching 
his clenched hands towards the sky, as pleading to 
the gods he was taught to worship, to give him 
back the life of his father. At last, espying a sharp 
shell on the sand, he seized it in an access of fiiry, 
and began to inflict such wounds on his own head 
and cheeks, that he soon ran down with blood. 

The men had looked on, up to now with much 
concern on their faces, to see the wild grief of this 
untaught nature : but when he thus began to scarify 
himself, Harvey and Prodgers seized each a hand, 
and stayed him. The young savage struggled from 
them with all his might ; when they took the shell 
out of his clenched fist, he turned upon them with 
threatening gestures, still pointing upward. This 
action we did not understand at the time, until we 
had learned to communicate with these savages in 
a mixed language, part English and part Indian: 
then, indeed, we made out from the lad that he had 
ofiered his blood as a sacrifice for the life of his 
father. 

But Richard Prodgers having begun to practies 
charity, seemed inspired with another happy idea; 
and pulling his flask of brandy out of his pocket, 
handed it to me, saying ; “ Try the poor old fellow 
with a drop of this; and ’tis a wonder I hadn’t 
thought on’t before.” Indeed, it was dull of myself^ 


THW CATHOLIC CRUSO*. 


139 


too, not to hav^e thought of the branrly as a remedy 
for drowning. However, now we applied it in right 
earaest, and gave the dead man (as he seemed) his 
first taste of that “fire water” which has been so fatal 
to many another, savage or civilized. 

Whether it was, the brandy took more effect on 
who had never tasted it, or that all we had done for 
him began to revive him without giving a symptom ; 
certain it is, when we had poured some of this down 
his throat, he began to choke violently, then sneezed 
once or twice, and opened his eyes. We now lifted 
him up ; though he could not stand, we propped him 
up for a few minutes, then began to walk him about 
slowly, till he gained some use of his limbs. 

But you should have seen the joy of the son when 
he saw his father revive again. Nothing was too 
extravagant for him to make known his feelings by : 
he gambolled and capered on before him, shouting, 
talking to him in his own language, which had the 
strangest discordant sound, formed, as it seemed 
down in the throat : so he went on, till the old man, 
growing faint, pointed with his finger to his mouth, 
to make known to us he wanted food. 

Want of food seemed now the prevailing disease 
amongst us : every man felt by this time he had 
earned his breakfast, but when we set about pre- 
paring for it, we found little enough left in the 
larder. The shark had devoured the last of our 
monkey; and of the remaining provender, all but 
a few scraps was gone, so wasteful had we been. 
So, setting Don Manuel, with Prodgers and Harvey, 
to have an eye to our Indian friends, lest they might 


140 THE ADTBNTTJRES OF OWEN EVANS, 

give ne the slip, and get into the woods, to be t 
trouble to us after (though the poor fellows were 
too weak and dispirited to have any thoughts of 
it at that time,) I took my rifle, and ranged with 
Hilton and Gill into the thicket, to cater for the 
party. We took the young savage with us, motion- 
ing him by signs to keep close at our heels and not 
get before us ; as well that he might be out of 
danger from our shot, as to prevent him from 
escaping. But he, for his part, had nothing of the 
kind in his head : being occupied with observing us, 
which he did with all admiration and astonishment ; 
he regarded us (so we judged from his looks) as 
beings of some superior order in human shape, and 
much, I suppose, as we should regard an angel that 
were to appear to us ; but indeed, anything less like 
angels, in appearance or spirit, seldom has been seen 
on this earth. However, the Indian lad followed us 
obediently ; and, seeing from our actions what we 
were about, he took up a smooth stone or two that 
lay in his path, making signs to us that he would 
knock down any animal that came in his way, and 
kill it, and bring it to us to eat. All this we made 
out readily from his dumb show, which was so 
expressive, we could not mistake it, and so ridiculous 
we could not choose but laugh at it heartily. We 
answered his likewise by signs, bidding him come 
along, and drop the stones again ; which he did with 
submission, and followed us like a very slave, cross- 
ing his hands on his breast. 

We had not gone very far, till we roused an 
animal out of the thicket, such as we had not seen 


THE CATHOLIC CBD80B. 


141 


before : neither did we often meet with such in our 
residence on the island ; nor could I well account 
for our meeting this one at the present. Something 
it was of the hog kind, though not in all things like 
our peccary, neither : but anything in shape of food 
was acceptable to us in our hunger, so I knocked it 
over with my rifle, and Harvey picked it up stone 
dead, or drew it along, rather. 

But we, that were so used to the sound and effect 
of fire arms, did not reckon on what they would 
produce upon the spirits of one that never yet had 
heard them. We were surprised to see our young 
savage fall to the earth on the sound of my piece’s 
discharge : he lay like a dead thing, on his face ; 
and when we came to him and stirred him, bidding 
him get on his feet again, he only rose to his knees, 
supplicating us with the most moving gestures, and 
pointing to the rifle I held in my hand : then speak- 
ing to it, as though it were a live thing, and be- 
seeching it not to kill him. 

This made us merry again ; till the distress of the 
savage moved us to some compassion. I came to 
him, and took him by the hand, holding my gun 
behind me, to assure him I meant him no harm, and 
so raised him to his feet. When he had gained 
some courage, he looked anxiously about for the 
piece that had been fired; but when I brought it 
forward, all his fears revived, and I believe he 
would have fled a way, but that by my voice I half 
commanded and half encouraged him to stand still. 
Then I pi esented to him the stock of my rifle, and 
moved it towards him: he trembled from head 


142 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


to foot as he eyed it ; at length, falling on his knees 
again, he placed the butt of the piece on his head, 
and clasped his hands over it, by which I saw he 
meant to worship it. 


CHAPTER XXin. 

WB ABE TAKEN TO BE GODS. 

Little religion as there was amongst us, except 
what our priest had taught us lately, we were struck 
with horror (at least I speak for myself) to behold 
this ignorant savage bowing himself down thus to 
the stock of a tree. I took the rifle from him angrily, 
pointing upwards to the sky; to make him under* 
stand that life and death came from thence alone. 
He seemed partly to understand me, and nodding 
his head and smiling, pointed upwards too, and then 
to the gun ; by which I made out that he thought 
the god whom he had worshipped (in his blind way) 
had sent down this piece upon earth, or had come to 
dwell in it, and so had worked the wonderful efiects 
he had seen it produce. But when I handled the 
rifle again, and began to sponge it with my ramrod, 
and load it with powder and ball, then he changed 
his opinion, and began to think, as I was master of 
this terrible engine, and could do with it as I would, 
I must needs myself be a god. 

He crept to me, with all possible signs of revei-cnce 
and fear; touching the ground several times with his 


THI OATHOLIO 0RU80I. 


148 


forehead as he came ; then, drawing nearer, he took 
my foot with trembling, and placed it on his head as 
he lay in the dust. This I refused with a frowning 
countenance ; and raised my hand again to heaven, 
forbidding him to worship a creature such as I : but 
all of no use. The poor Indian could not get it out 
of his thoughts that we were masters of the thunder 
and lightning, and could do what we would with life 
or death. So I gave it over for the time ; resolving 
to speak to Don Manuel, and see what could be done 
to enlighten this dark soul, and teach him to know 
something of God. Meanwhile, I motioned to him 
to take this animal (the one, I mean, that we had 
killed) on his shoulders, and run before us to the rest ; 
which he did willingly, and arrived before us in spite 
of the weight. 

At sight of this food, the savages were not to be 
restrained; indeed, taking into account their long 
fast (for we made out from them later, they had not 
tasted bit nor sup for the best part of two days) we 
thought it well to let them have their way ; so, cut- 
ting off a leg and shoulder for our own use, we aban- 
doned the rest to their heathenish gluttony. And 
sliort work, truly, did they make of it, without so 
much as a thought about cookery of any kind. But 
I must record here, on the other hand, the tender 
filial attentions paid by the poor lad to his father : 
for, seeing the old man still so weak as scarce to be 
able to raise hand to mouth, this young savage 
(though less a savage indeed than many a son more 
civilized) occupied his whole care about feeding his 
father with the choicest morsels he could tear off 


144 THE ADTENTCRE3 Of OWEN EVANS, 

<vith his fingers ; putting them lovingly into hia 
mouth, and talking to him all the while with that 
strange kind of jabbering he had used at first This 
talk, or some part of it, I made out to be about the 
firing of the rifle, and wonderful killing of the animal, 
without arrow, javelin, club, or even stone : for first 
he pointed to it (or as much as was left after their 
meal,) then ran along swiftly on his hands and 
feet, to imitate the creature’s running, which he did 
in the most laughable way you ever saw. Then he 
stood upright to take me off, too : but that he did not, 
till he had first inclined towards me with great 
reverence, crossing his hands on his breast again and 
uttering some words, or sounds rather, that were 
meant to show respect for the person he spoke of. 
Then, stretching out his left arm straight, and at 
full length, pointing his finger by way of muscle to 
a gun, he snapped his other fingers smartly for the 
click of the lock, and made a booming sound, or kind 
of rude bellowing to express the report of the piece 
Then again, he turned himself into the animal I had 
shot, and went tumbling and rolling over and over ; 
then lay still, as though he were dead, and so got up 
again, and came back to the rest. 

All this pantomime amused our men heartily : as 
for Ned Hilton, he turned to Harvey, and bade him 
cheer up, and not take on for the loss of his monkeys, 
if they should not live (the two young monkeys, as 
I said before, were sickening at this time, and died 
very soon after : ) “ For here, messmate,” says he, 
“ you have a young monkey in this nigger, as full of 
tricks as any ; and you may teach him to fetch and 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


145 


carry . see he’s not afraid of speaking and being put 
to work.” * 

As for the Indians, they seemed to think there 
was nothing laughable in what their young country- 
man told them : no sooner had he finished his ac- 
count, than they rose up, and coming towards us 
with the same gestures of submission he had used 
before, bent down before our feet ; then lifted our 
feet gently, and were for placing them on their 
heads, in sign of servitude, or adoration, I scarce 
know which. I noticed the only one of our number 
who seemed proud of this being done was Prodgers : 
as for the rest, Hilton and careless Harry laughed at 
it with a will ; Tom Harvey, too, was amused at the 
odd gestures of these poor savage men. Don Man- 
uel did what I had done before, only in a better 
way, for it came more natural to him. He took the 
hand of the Indian who had offered him this homage 
and that was the old man whom we had fetched 
back from death with so much difficulty, who seemed 
to single out Don Manuel as the one that had best 
title tc reverence. This old Indian came creeping 
to him as though he were more than human : the 
priest put that by, with some marks of displeasure, 
though kindly ; then, taking his hand, raised it with 
his own towards heaven, to make him understand, 
’twas God had saved him, and that he must adore 
God alone. 

Thus, our first communication with these savagea 

* The negroes in the West Indies had a notion that the 
monkey was human, and could speak if he would ; but that 
he kept silence to avoid being employed as a slave. — Ed. 


146 


THl ADYBNTURES OF OWEN STANt, 


was, so far, on the side of Christianity ; a thing I aitt 
glad to think on now, reviewing all that hefel us. 
“ Too often,” said Don Manuel to me when we talked 
t over, “ they who ought to have carried to the hea- 
then the light of the Gospel, have only stirred for them 
^he fire of hell.” 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

A LESSON IN INDIAN. 

OuE next thought "was, how to establish a kind of 
language to converse with these new and strange 
friends of ours. After some consulation, withdraw- 
ing ourselves a little apart, the men asked me to 
make the savages a speech in dumb show, to gain 
their confidence, but their submission too. Don 
Manuel joined this request ; and though I asked him 
to try it himself, he still motioned me forward. So 
I drew near to them, where they were sitting hud- 
dled together with much anxiety, their chins resting 
on the palms of their hands, and eyeing every move- 
ment of ours with their great rolling eyes. But 
when they saw me approach with my rifle, they all 
sprang up in terror again, and prostrated their faces 
in the dust, making no doubt I had determined to 
kill them. Xay, perhaps they thought we were go- 
ing to eat them too, or at least one among them : 
for the men were even now preparmg a fire to cook 
•ome portions of the hog for our meal, and they sup* 


THE OATHOLIO CRUSOE. 


147 


posed, it seems, I was come to fetch them to increase 
our good cheer. 

Finding this, I laid aside my rifle, placing it care- 
fully on the sand ; then still advanced a few steps, 
and held out my empty hand to them I had no such 
intention as they feared. I could see they watched 
all this very closely ; and it gave them much joy, 
you may he sure : so, seating themselves in a row, 
and with gestures of submission, they listened, with- 
out interrupting me again. I say, listened ; for 1 
found I could not get on with my dumb show only, 
but must accompany it with words : and though it 
may appear strange to any one who reads this, yet 
I believe he will find, by placing himself in my cir- 
cumstances, he would help out his actions by words, 
even as one who speaks on what interests him much, 
is sure to help out his words by action. 

Mv address ran thus, or somewhat as follows : 

“ Friends,” said I, in a mild voice, smiling on them 
all the while, “ we have rescued you from those 
waves j” and here I pointed with my hand over to the 
sea, which was now growing calm again. This ac- 
tion they understood very well ; and bowed their 
heads to say, ’twas true, and they were very grate- 
ful to us for saving them. “We are glad of it,” 
continued I ; “ and thankful, as you ought to be, to 
that great God who has preserved you from death” 
[raising my hand, pointing upwards, though I must 
say, my heart rebuked me for preaching gratitude 
when I had put it so little in practice. But if we 
measured our instruction by our own practice, which 
of ufl would say a word to his neighbor for his good ?J 


148 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Well, this second action of mine was plain enough 
to them too : only, while I pointed straight up to 
heaven, they all pointed with both arms stretched 
out to the sun, to make me know that was the god 
they thought had saved them from the sea. This 
made me feel angry again ; yet not so much as I de- 
termined to make show of, that I might wean them 
from that horrid idolatry of theirs. So, putting on a 
frowning countenance, I closed my fist, and shook 
it at them, to threaten them : at which they dropped 
their hands again, and bowed their heads, as saying, 
it should be just as I would. I supposed at the 
time, and made out from them after, what was their 
notion about us; viz., that my God must needs be 
much greater than their god, since I was myself so 
superior to them, and not their own, inasmuch as the 
tempest had obscured the sun. However, I now 
went on, part by words which they could not under- 
Btand, part by signs, which they did : I made them 
sensible we would be good masters to them if they 
would behave themselves orderly and well : that we 
would not beat or ill use them (this I explained by 
taking one of the handspikes, and making as though 
1 were beating some one severely, together T\dth 
kicking, shaking, and beating with my fists : then 
threw the pike from me with every mark of abhor- 
rence, as though all this were what I detested, and 
should be sorry to be forced to.) 

’Twas indeed strange to see, how quickly these 
poor savages took up my meaning. They nodded 
at me with many outlandish grimaces, crossed their 
hands on their breasts, then placed them on their 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


149 


heads, in token, they devoted their lives to our ser- 
vice. Then I, on my part, made them great prom- 
ises, pointing to some cocoa-nuts that grew at a lit- 
tle distance, pretending to fetch them the fruit to 
eat : then to some portions of the hog that lay about, 
as though I offered to them all good things needed. 
At this, they clapped their hands, and broke out 
into a kind of song, rocking themselve to and fro as 
they sat, with gesture of great contentment. 

^VHiat they sang sounded much as I here set it 
down : 

Ooama atahai, oora, oora, 

Tahgata makoee, kaoo, toroo ; 

Eree-hma wariu I 

But it was not till some time later that I chanced to 
ask the middle-aged Indian, one day when he was 
hoeing in our plantation, what was the meaning of 
this song ; and in particular, of the last words, which 
they repeated again and again, drawing out the 
notes to a great length, and raising their voices to a 
higher pitch. He told me, in the broken English 
we had taught him to speak, ’twas a song of grati- 
tude for "^e promises I made them : and this is how 
he put 11; into English ; Brown man happy, very good, 
very good : he work^ he laugh, morning ^ evening : kind 
to him white lords ! 

After all, I thought it best to show them, as there 
was a smooth side there might be a rough one, in 
our dealings with each other. So, in the best way 
I could, I began acting another little pantomime, ex- 
pressing first a disobedient, froward servant dishon- 
est to his master ; this I did by catching up a cocoa- 
nut, and running a little distance with it as though 


IM THl ADTENTURBS OF OWEN EYANE, 

I had stolen it : then came back, and pointed to them, 
to make them see I meant themselves by this ; so, 
pointing to myself, I moved towards my rifle, catch- 
ing it up and presenting it at them, as though I 
would fire. But this renewed all the poor fellows’ 
mortal fright, as indeed I meant it to do, for a whole- 
some lesson to them: they cast themselves once 
more down before me, stretching forth their hands ; 
and all at once cried out with the utmost vehemence, 
TJdam, udam ! which means in their language, iVb, 
no ! Whether they meant only to beseech me this 
most dreadful thing might not happen to them, or 
to assure me they would not deserve it, I cannot 
say ; but ’tis like enough, indeed, they meant both. 


CHAPTER XXV. 

FEEBDOM OE SLAVEET ? 

OuE party being thus increased of a sudden, it 
perplexed me to know how to secure these new 
subjects of our little kingdom, or employ them: 
and after our meal, which we cooked and ate in 
our accustomed fashion, I walked a little apart 
with Don Manuel to consult on the point, placing 
the savages in charge of Tom Harvey. This I did, 
both for their safe custody, also to prevent any 
of the other men playing ofl* their sailor’s tricks on 
them, or ill-treating them with any tyrannical usage ; 
% thing I apprehended, not wholly without reason. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


151 


For, though our men were indeed improved by our 
common misfortune and Don Manuel’s influence, yet 
Hwas plain they regarded these Indians as beings 
of a lower grade, who might be employed as their 
slaves, or treated according to the humour of the 
moment. Indeed, this was the question I proposed 
to the priest, how far our savages were to be looked 
on as slaves whom we had bought with money, or 
prisoners taken in war. 

He answered me very gravely, and with an earn- 
est countenance, saying, we had no right what- 
soever to regard them so : for, putting aside, says 
he, the whole question of slavery, which you and 
I need not now enter on, these poor men are cast 
by misfortune on our coast ; and we owe to them 
a share of those rights which man has with his 
brother man. “ If we should deprive them,” he 
went on, speaking more and more strongly, “ of 
their liberty, in what are we better than those 
inhuman wreckers who come down from their cliflTs 
like so many sea-robbers, or vultures, to seize the 
property of the luckless mariners that are cast on 
their inhospitable shore ?” 

To this I saw no answer, indeed : yet, thinking 
awhile , 

“ These creatures,” said I, “ are savages, who 
have no law of property, nor understand any right 
between man and man, except what the strong arm 
gives over the weak.” 

“ But every man,” answers the priest, quickly, 
“ by the law of nature, has the right to posses# 
Idmself.” 


162 THIS ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

“I doubt not,” pursued I, for I wanted to look 
at this from all sides, “ had we been cast away on 
their coast, instead of they on ours, they had robbed 
and killed us by this time, aye, and eaten us besides.’ 

Even granting it,” Don Manuel replied ; “ that 
srould have been forasmuch as they are savages and 
heathens. Shall we measure our conduct by their 
standard ?” 

“Has, then, the heathen savrge,” I objected, “the 
same rights with the Christian and civilized white 
man ?” But as I spoke, I felt a twinge of conscience, 
to think what sort of civilization we owned, and 
above all, what sort of Christians we had proved 
ourselves to be; though Don Manuel let it pass 
without notice. 

“We must not confound two things together,” 
says he, smiling. “ By the law of nature, the white 
man and his darker brother have the same title to 
life and liberty : though by the law of society they 
may not have the same privileges in other ways.” 

“ After all,” said I, “ the one is savage, the other 
civilized.” 

“ That is what I mean,” insisted he, thought quite 
mildly, as was his way. “The great difference 
between them makes it impossible to put equal power 
into their hands ; because the savage knows not how 
to use it rightly. You cannot trust him, as you 
cannot trust a mere child. When the child is grown 
in years, in knowledge, in experience, he passes out 
of the state of a pupil, and becomes a citizen. You 
must educate him for his future position ; then give 
It to him. So, you must train the savage, who in 


THB CATHOLIO OBUSOl. 


153 


many ways is a child ; and, when he has served his 
apprenticeship to liberty, he must be free, absolutely 
free !” He spoke this with some warmth, raising his 
voice as we walked on. 

“ Then ’tis our duty to educate these Intians, and 
treat them as equals asked L 

“ Think, my dear friend ?” answered the priest, 
turning short upon me ; “ I do not think about it, foi 
I am sure. Educate them first, and you thereby 
make them equals. Let us take care,” he added, 
“ we do not find them some day our superiors.” 

“Just what I apprehended,” said I, taking him up 
wrongly : “ what if some day they should find the 
means to over master us ?” 

“ Build my wall round about them,” said he, look- 
ing cheerful : “ for to be encompassed with that wall 
is the truest freedom.” 

I knew well what the priest meant ; and after I 
had thought for a few minutes ; “ Yes, sir,” said I, 
“ that wall has stood us in good stead, and I see not 
but it might do much for these poor fellows, to teach 
them to pray, too.” 

“ And not to bow to the sun,” added he, sighing 
deeply, as he thought on it. “We must clear away 
all that, and a great deal more, before we can lay 
the foundations of our walk” 

“Then it is our duty to make them Christians, 
too?” 

“Who can doubt it?” answered he. “Duty! is 
it not a privilege ? Are they not sent to us for that 
very thing?” 

He looked at me, in wonder that I did not answer; 


154 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

which I was indeed slow to do, for the idea which 
filled his mind was new to mine. Except for what 
he had said when he asked us, the day before, what 
a priest was, I must own the thought had never 
crossed me, of converting such savages as we might 
fall in with. 

“Yes,” said the priest, speaking to himself; 
“ therefore are they come : even therefore are they 
come !” 

He bad scarce uttered the words, when our thoughts 
were diverted by a cry that rose among the men we 
had left : soon we saw Hilton coming towards us in 
haste, beckoning us to come back. My mind mis- 
gave me, something was going amiss with the In- 
dians ; I ran back at once, up a little slope of ground 
that had hidden us from view, and Don Manuel fol- 
lowed me close. We had fetched a compass m our 
walk of perhaps two hundred yards : but now, taking 
a short cut through the trees, I was soon upon them, 
before they were aware ; and saw at once what I was 
sorry enough, and angry enough, too, to «eo aomti 


THl CATHOLIC CRCSOB. 


166 


CHAPTER XXVL 

THE WHITE MAN NO HEEO. 

Being left to themselves, and this new game afoot, 
the men (or some of them) forgot all they had gone 
through, in the pleasure of tormenting the unhappy 
Indian savages : seeming to regard them as their ab- 
solute property, or as so many head of mere cattle 
without souls. Xo sooner were our back turned 
(this we made out later from the Indians later stilly 
than Prodgers and Gill, always our most untoward 
members of society, began such pranks as a schoo. 
boy might have felt himself above practising; as, 
plucking the hair of these poor ignorant creatures, 
blackening their faces with a burnt stick ; in short, 
whatever tricks are played off on passengers in a 
ship on first crossing the line, were devised, and exe- 
cuted too, by those scapegraces, spite of all Tom 
Harvey’s efforts against it. He reasoned wdth them, 
and defended the Indians to the utmost of his pow- 
er ; he ended by threatening them outright, he would 
knock them down, did they attempt it further. And 
ftwas just at this stage of proceedings we came upon 
them. 

I ran up at once, and spoke out my mind ; laying 
hands, roughly enough, on Prodgers’ collar : bidding 
him desist, or we would come to blows. The rest 
joined in this ; reasoning now with Harry, to persuade 
them how absurd as well as cruel they had been : 
above aU (for that was the thought came chiefly into 


156 THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN ETAHg, 

mj mind), how we should destroy our influence with 
these savages by showing them, they whom they had 
so lately taken for gods were subject to all the cap- 
rices and fooleries of mere men, after all said and 
done. 

This had some little effect, for both of them now 
became somewhat ashamed of the part they had 
played. But pride next came in, to bolster up what 
could not be maintained by reason ; and Richard 
Prodgers, turning thoroughly sulky again, seemed 
resolute to have his own way, or leave us altogether ; 
for so he declared himself. 

“ Hark,” says he, “ I give you all notice, I, for one, 
do n’t understand this submitting here and submitting 
there, nor do n’t mean to practise the same. I mean 
to do as I please, for one : so, good bye t’ye all, if 
that’s all, and no more about it.” 

With that he catches up his gun, and was for 
making off. But I saw at once, to let him go with 
his weapon in that style would never do : for Prod- 
gers armed, and in dudgeon, might prove an awk- 
ward customer to the rest of us, if he meant mischief. 
So, thinking to coax him back to good humour, I 
was beginning in a hail-fellow-well-met sort of way ; 
but Don Manuel laid his hand on my arm, as though 
to say, such would be of no use for the present. 
Nor indeed, knowing the man concerned, do I think 
it would have been. 

“ At least,” said I, “ you do not cany away the 
gun, for we have already voted that into the common 
stock: and he who withdraws from oui common* 
wealth has no claim to private property.” 


THI CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


157 


The men closed in here, and cried out I was in the 
right of it : but Richard Prodgers was not the man to 
yield that point, you may be sure : and a struggle 
followed for the piece, in the midst of which, I know 
not by what means, it became cocked, just as Don 
Manuel, who stepped in on one side (while I, on my 
part, pulled Richard away,) struck up the muzzle 
with his hand. And, so doing, he saved the life of 
Ned Hilton; for, the next moment, the piece went 
off, and some of the shot grazed Hilton on his cheek 
but for what the priest had done with a calm pres- 
ence of mind, it had without all doubt shot him 
through the body. But Hilton, chafed at this, angry 
and bleeding as he was, with one blow of his fist 
felled Prodgers to the ground. 

This put an end to the contest ; each one being too 
much concerned in preventing further mischief not to 
make common cause : so Richard was held down, till 
he promised good behaviour if we let him rise. But 
good behaviour meant, thrusting his hands in his 
pockets, and turning away from us, while we con- 
sulted apart what was best to be done with him. 

He saved us much further trouble on that head ; 
for turning to us again with a determined air, “ 1 
wish all here a good moring,” says he, “ and shall 
take myself off.” 

So take himself off he did, till we lost sight of him 
among the trees that bounded our cove to northward : 
but afterwards it appeard, from what followed, he 
struck down again towards the rocks on the shore 
beyond. 

I believe, none of us felt sorry at the time to be 


168 THE ADTBNTURBS OF OWEN BTANB, 

rid of Prodgers so easily ; only we knew well he 
must soon come back to us and beg for food: inafr 
much as, except his knife that would serve to kill 
wild game, he was unprovided with anything where- 
by to support life for so much as a day. 

“ He may comfort himself with the rest of the 
brandy bottle,” said Gill, and then we thought no 
more of him, being occupied with our savages, t« 
see what use we conld make of them. 

But first, Don Manuel took up that discourse, 
representing to the men, as strongly as he had to 
me (but not in a like way of discussing the question,) 
that we must not think of making slaves of these 
Indians. We might call them apprentices, he said, 
and hold them as such, if they chose to stay with us. 
Only, we must give them their choice, whether they 
would stay at all, or take chance of the sea again iu 
their canoe. They were free to go, or remain ; and, 
remaining had a right to good treatment, as man 
should treat his fellow-man. 

I could plainly see, this discourse was not well 
relished by some that heard it ; and there was silence 
among us for a little while, the men looking first on 
each other, then on the ground. For indeed, to 
oppose the priest, who had become our benefactor 
in many ways, was a thing no one was forward to 
do : yet, on the other hand. Gill, and Hilton too, who 
than settled in their minds they might lord it over 
these savages, and so lead easy lives on the island 
while the slaves worked for them, now saw theb 
property, as it were, snatched from their grasp. 

“Come, friends,” said the priest, after a pause; 


THB CATHOLIC CBCSOB. 


169 


do justice to your better thoughts, and let me be 
spokesman for you to these poor souls, who are 
created, like yourselves, in the image of God.” 

With that, he stepped to them ; speaking in his 
native Spanish to give effect to his signs, he asked 
them (for I bad some acquaintance with that tongue,) 
whether they would stay on the island with us : and 
here he struck down his staff on the earth, then 
pointed to us with his hand. Or, says he, will you 
get into that canoe again (for the canoe had by this 
come near the shore, but had not righted, and was 
floating keel upwards,) and go back again over the 
wide sea? All which he made clear to them by 
the signs accompanying his words. 

Our Indians did not debate which to choose ; but 
all falling on their knees, they took up handfuls of 
the earth, and first kissed it, then put it on their 
heads, after swallowing a little of it, and throwing 
some into the air : devotmg themselves, as we under 
stood, to live and die on the place. Then they point* 
ed to the boat, and made signs of disgust, turning 
away their heads, and shaking their hands against 
it ; to make us know, they had no wish to embark 
again, but the clean contrary. At this, Don Manuel 
gave tokens of satisfaction, and renewed for us the 
promises of good treatment I had made them before. 

While we were occupied in this way, we heard the 
voice of Richard Prodgers cry out, as if in terror or 
pain, from the rocks beyond out of sight. In an in- 
stant after, he shouted for help : we caught up our 
guns, and dashed after him, motioning to the savages 
to follow us. So indeed they did, and outran us 


160 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

too, having armed themseU es with some stones that 
they caught up most dexterously as they ran. As 
to their running, they distanced us fairly ; for such 
fleet creatures I never saw in human shape ; all ex- 
cept the old man, who could very hardly keep up 
with us. I thought it dangerous to let the other two 
go on, lest they should escape us altogether ; so I 
called on to them to come back, which they did 
with great submissiveness ; and thus it chanced we 
all came upon the scene of action together. 


CHAPTER XXVIL 

PRODGERS LEARNS HIS LESSON. 

No sooner had we got clear of the trees, than 
^icwas plain poor old Richard was not crying for 
help without a cause : we found him kneeling on the 
rocks, and he holding them with all his might, strug- 
gling against somewhat that pulled him to itself, 
with a force greater than his own while he cried 
out in the extremity of his terror. We ran up to 
him at full speed, and horrible it was to see him in 
the grasp of a large cuttle fish, that almost had got- 
ten him within its jaws. This monster had a body 
of the bigness of a biggish gourd, and each one of 
its eight arms [or legs, call them as you will] was 
no less than four feet, I am sure, in the length ; with 
suckers at the end, such as I have seen boys make 
in leather, and pull up stones by them at the end of 




THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


161 


a string. It had fixed one of these suckers on Rich- 
ard’s face, leaving him scarce mouth enough to roar 
with ; and by this, and three or four of its other 
arms, it was pulling him towards its beak, hooked 
like a parrot or hawk’s beak, that was open to devour 
him ; whilst its large fishy eyes were fixed upon him, 
and the rest of the legs clasped the rocks with the 
grasp of a blacksmith’s vice. 

We were afraid to fire, lest we should miss the 
monster, and hit our comrade instead; besides, a 
bullet or two might have gone through the cuttle- 
fish, without doing it much hurt, and would not les- 
sen the dreadful power of its arms, that were still 
drawing, and drawing, till Prodgers’ face was with- 
in a foot or so of the cruel beak that would have 
gored it in a moment more. 

Let me live as long as I may, I never can forget 
the look of agony Richard cast, nor his shrieks, as 
the monster closed on him. But just then I ran up, 
and laying the edge of my drawn hanger on the arm 
of the fish, drew it swiftly across, and severed the 
limb at a stroke. Then the rest of the men fell-to 
with their knips, and we made short work of him : 
for indeed we could find no bones but, the back-bone, 
and all the fish’s strength lay in the contracting pow- 
er of his muscles, which pull with a strain like a 
ship’s cable. 

Our attention for the moment was all on our poor 
old messmate ; he had fallen into a deadly swoon 
from the fear of what we were just in the nick of 
time to save him from. We had some ado to recov- 
er him, which we did by the aid of a few drops from 


162 THH ADVBNTURIS OF OWEN BTANi, 

his own flask, with dashing some salt water in hii 
face. At last he opened his eyes, and nodded 
thanks to us for our care, sitting on the knee of Har- 
ry Gill, who thus repaid him for his good offices of 
two days ago, when he got the brimstone choke in 
the cave. But in another minute or so we saw Rich- 
ard Prodgers slide down on his knees, still holding 
by Harry’s shoulder: I thought at first he was go- 
ing off again into a swoon, but soon I heard him say 
only faint and low : “My God, I thank Thee for sav- 
ing me ; I am sorry for all my sins against Thee 
Help me : I intend to do better !”J 

On this, Don Manuel wept aloud for joy; and he 
that had been so calm up to now, and calming the 
passions of other men, surprised us no less by his 
passionate emotion than Richard by his prayer. 
However, the priest took no notice of us or our won- 
dering ; he cast himself down on his knees beside 
Prodgers, and throwing his arm over the old sinner’s 
shoulder, he looked up to heaven, and cried : 

“ It is fit that we should make merry and be glad, 
for this our brother was dead, and is come to life 
again ; he was lost, and is found !” 

I know not by what blessed contagion ’twas, but 
we all cast ourselves on our knees together, and 
could not help it ; then, for the third time since our 
banishment in this place, Don Manuel prayed for our 
whole company, and guided our prayer. He thanked 
the divine mercies for Richard’s deliverance; he 
invoked a blessing on his head for his good resolutions, 
and prayed that he might persevere in them ; plead- 
ing for this by what I shuddered to think we had 


THH CATHOLIC CRUSOl. 


163 


seldom heard mentioned on board ship but in cursing 
and blasphemy — the Blood and Wounds of Him who 
hung on the cross to save us all. 

This time, too, he ended before we had wearied of 
our prayer : then stood up, and we followed his ex- 
ample. All of us, I think, guessed by a sort of in- 
stinct what was coming next, as he took Richard by 
the hand, and led him towards Ned Hilton. Ned 
was still stanching his wounded cheek with his neck- 
kerchief. Prodgers put out his hand, and did not 
hesitate. “ Forgive and forget,” said he, “ mess-mate 
’twas a mischance after all.” Ned seemed to debate 
with himself for a moment, then grasped his hand in 
return, and all was well between them from that 
time. 

“ Into hospital, gentlemen !* cried the priest, gaily ; 
“ these little accidents have laid us up, and we must 
recover before we think of aught else, if you please.” 

No sooner said than done: we placed the wounded 
men sitting on the rocks, and I began to examine 
Hilton’s face that was grazed by the shot, but not 
more than that. Now was the first time the savages 
proved of use to us ; for no sooner did they remark 
what was going on, than the middle aged Indian (so 
I still call him, but we made out afterwards his name 
was Rer-mimebolamba, which means Pounder of the 
enemies’ heads,) coming towards us with signs of 
great reverence, pointed first to Hilton’s wounds, 
then stretched his hand towards the woods in the 
interior of the island : making as though he would 
gather something there, and apply it to the cheek. 

I was inclined to let him have his way, knowing 


164 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

how skilful savages are in healing wounds by herbi 
and simples, though unpractised in other branches 
of the healing art ; and, surgeon as I was, I did not 
disdain to take a lesson from the savage : the more 
so, as I had with me no instruments or any other re- 
medies, these having been left behind in the ship. 
So I bade Harvey take one of the guns, and go with 
the Indian into the wood, giving him strict charge to 
prevent his escaping, and rather to shoot him down 
than lose him in that way. 

“ Stay,” said Don Manuel, with much concern 
when he heard me say that ; “ did not we agree, a 
while ago, these men had a right to life and liberty ? 
So no shooting, Senor Tomaso, for that would be 
down right murder.” 

“ But if he escape,” says I, “ he will be dangerous 
to us all : he may lie in wait for us in the woods, and 
we shall never be secure of our lives for a moment : 
then, he may signal to any canoe he chances to espy, 
and bring other savages on us.” 

“ You have no right to his life,” replied the priest, 
“unless it be absolutely needed to preserve your 
own.” And he spoke this with more authority than 
was his wont : for he had at times the air of a prince; 
and when he showed this, I felt awkward and shy 
before him, do what I would. 

“ Put him in leading strings, if you think it neces- 
sary to your safety,” said he after a pause, and smiling, 
“ provided he consent, for he has a free choice. You 
have some string about you, I think I saw: well, let 
me ask hun to become our prisoner as well as our 
apprentice.” 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


165 


I handed him the ball of twine ; for indeed, by 
this time he did with us pretty well as he would : 
he took it, and came to the Indian, making signs to 
him to tie his own hand, and pointed to the woods, 
to make him know, he might go thither on his good 
errand when he had done this. John Pounder (for 
80 we called this savage after a while, when he knew 
the meaning of his Indian name) nodded and laughed 
at what the priest signalled to him ; then took the 
end of the twine : with his right hand and his teeth 
he tied a knot a round his left wrist as cleverly as 
ever I saw a sailor knot a rope : then gave back the 
ball into the hands of the priest, and pointed to the 
woods, as impatient to set off. 

“You see, friends,” said Don Manuel, turning to 
us, “ he has done himself, by dint of a little gentle- 
ness, what no one had a right to compel him to.” 

“ Give a man rope enough, and he’ll hang himself,” 
says GilL 

“ Not in this case,” answered the Don ; “ but I will 
cap your proverb with another we have in Spain ; it 
may be put into English thus ; 

‘ Up the Sierra Morena 
A green bough ’tices a restive mule.** 

Have you any like that, friends, among the sayings 
of your country?” 

* It seems a pity that the author has not given us the ori- 
ginal of this Spanish proverb, the meaning of which, how- 
ever, is obvious enough. The Sierra Morena is a lugged 
chain of montains running between Cordova and Estremad- 
ura ; the ascent of which was, in earlier days at least, toilsome 
and difficult, demanding some enticement to the sumpter 
mules and other beasts of burden employed in transporting 
merchandize across the height. — ^Ei». 


166 THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

“ I take it,” said I, “ ’tis much what I have heard 
said, that you may draw folks round the world, when 
you can’t drive them a yard.” 

“Ah, just 80, just so,” said he, again and again, 
looking much pleased : “ kindness is the real loadstone 
that draws everything. But now, off with you to 
the woods, or our friend Hilton’s wounds will grow 
cold.” 

I must say, though, the Indian did not seem so 
content to go with Tom Harvey ; for Harvey had 
the formidable gun in his hand that was to him so 
supernatural, and dreadful a thing : the poor savage 
looked beseechingly to the priest, and stretched out 
his hands, as begging him to take him rather. But 
Don Manuel smiled upon him again, stroking his 
head ; then laid his hand upon his own heart, to 
make him see he pledged himself for his safety. 
This seemed to content the other ; so he crossed his 
arms on his breast, and they set out at a round trot, 
and soon were in the woods out of sight. 

Now I turned to Prodgefs, who by this had pretty 
well got back his strength : only his face too had 
need to be doctored, what with the violent drawing 
of the monster’s paws, or suckers, grasping it ; what 
with a kind of poison that must have exuded from 
them : for his face was becoming bloated, and covered 
with redness, or rather a purple colour in spots, that 
alarmed me for him. He seemed to feel some fears 
himself : for he said to me, in a subdued way, quite 
unlike his former : 

“ Do you think, sir, I am in danger of dying?” 

“ Oh 1 I hope not, old fellow,” answered I, wishing 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOI. 


167 


to cheer him up ; knowing that to lose spirits in such 
cases only makes the danger greater : “ why should 
you entertain such dark thoughts ?” 

“Why, death,” says he again, slowly, “is an 
awful thing, when you come to think on it ; I never 
felt so much about it before. I fell overboard once, 
’tis now a good eleven years ago ; all the while I 
was struggling in the water, I had not so much fear 
of death as now that I am sitting on this rock. To 
pass out of life, what is that ? ’Tis to have one’s 
soul taken out of one’s body, I know ; well, that must 
be a shrewd wrench ; and where does the soul go to 
then ?” 

God forgive me, but I gave some light turn to 
this, to keep up his spirits, as I thought : when Don 
Manuel, who had taken his prayer-book, overheard 
us, and shut it again as he drew near. 

“Whither,” said he, “do you ask? Why, you 
know, my dear friend, as well as I, the soul is no 
sooner sundered from the body, but it stands before 
its Creator, to be judged.” 

At this, I pressed the priest’s arm, to make him 
sensible I desired to keep all such thoughts from the 
mind of my patient ; but he went on more earnestly, 
and said a few simple things about death and judg- 
ment that seemed to go straight into Prodger’s very 
soul, so awe-struck and humble did he look : and Gill 
too, with Hilton, listened in silence to every word be 
spoke. But that moment we saw our Indian running 
to us at full speed from the wood ; for Harvey had 
released him when he had got clear of the thicket on 
bis way back. His hands were full of herbs, which 


168 fH8 ADVKNTUEBS of OWEN KTAirS, 

he braudished aloft, laughing and gibbering, as he 
flew to us with the speed of a mad thing. And, to 
be short, when he came up, we let him have his way, 
which was, to chew those herbs into a pulp, and lay 
them as a plaster on the men’s faces, making signs to 
us to tie them up with their kerchiefs. There being 
no other remedy at hand, Hilton submitted to this 
with a tolerable grace : as to Prodgers, he was tamed 
to that degree, he submitted like a child. And, such 
was the healing virtue of these herbs, they soothed 
the wounds and inflamed faces of our patients so as 
no apothecary’s drugs could excel them ; and soon 
the two men laid them down under the shadow of 
the rocks, to snatch a sleep ; and Harry Gill followed 
their example. 


CHAPTER XXVra. 

WE DESIGN A SAFE EETREAT. ^ 

Tukning in my mind all that had befallen us, 1 
felt yet more anxious how to secure ourselves 
against attacks from without. For ’twas plain, 
i,hough we had found no trace of savages inhabiting 
our island, we were somewhere within reach of their 
canoes from a distance. And if a small boat (I 
reasoned) setting forth, maybe, on a mere fishing 
expedition, or to cross from one island or one shore 
of a creek to another, could be driven upon us in 
this way, what might we not expect from a large! 


TH£ OATHOLIO ORUSOS. 


169 


war-canoe, or, for matter of that, an entire fleet of 
them, fitted out for discovery, or missing their 
course, and so espying our mountain, as we had 
done from the ship? For, did they once land, I 
felt sure their Indian cunning would light on some 
token of the island being inhabited ; and then (I knew 
well) they would never give over their search till 
they had found us out ; and we should beyond all 
doubt fall a sacrifice to their cruelty, 

In short, this gloomy apprehension having once 
taken hold on my spirits, I could not well shake it 
off again, do what I would: but must impart it to 
the priest, for I would not at that time give a hint 
of it to any of the rest. Don Manuel, I found, was 
prepared for what I said. 

“The same thought,” says he, “is present with 
me ever since we pulled these poor creatures out of 
the water : but I delayed to speak to you of it, till 
I isould propose some plan for safety.” Then he 
went on to say, that in his country was an old 
deserted palace, belonging once to the Spanish king , 
and in the pleasure-grounds of it a labyrinth, or maze, 
formed of close-cut hedges laid out in such- wise, and 
with so much art, that among a number of turns to 
right and left, there was only one, and that one 
difficult to hit, that would lead to a summer-house 
in the centre. “ The king,” says he, “ in former 
days, when kings had little else to do, would amuse 
himself at his palace-window, watching his servants, 
or others, not masters of the secret of the place, how 
they would turn and wind, and run this way or that : 
for the most part wrong, and forced to double back 


170 IHB ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

again, or sit down wearied till some one who knew 
the secret came to show them out. Now I think, 
with the help of our apprentices,” and he smiled on 
me as he used the word, “ we might plant such a 
maze as this : for I have seen some of the prickly 
pear, and other close-growing shrubs, fit to form 
the hedges of it, in several parts of our island as we 
came along. It will take time, indeed ; for we shall 
not be secure till our hedges have taken root and 
grow thick : but we will pray that we may not be 
attacked before then. God helps those who help 
themselves.” 

“ Or what do you think, sir,” said I, “ of going 
back to the cliff where we took shelter, and looking 
out for some cleft or natural cave that we might 
enlarge, and so burrow deeper til] we had made 
us a house in the rock ?” 

“ That is good, too,” observed he thinking : “ but 
why may we not do both? An archer has two 
strings for his bow ; and many of the birds and 
animals provide their summer quarters, and winter 
quarters, by the wonderful instinct that is theirs. 
At all events, I will try and draw the plan of my 
maze : come, here is a scrap of paper for you ; do 
you the like, and we will compare notes over our 
fire to-night.” 

I liked the idea well enough, and I set to work, 
first to devise a maze that should be difficult for 
those who had not the clue, but easy to those who 
had. Then I tried to draw it out on the paper with 
one of Don Manuel’s pens, but a blotted work I 
made of it after all : what with correcting here and 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOS. 


171 


there, and opening passages where I had first closed 
them, the thing was so smeared as that I was half 
ashamed to show it when it was done. The priest 
got on better with his ; whether he was more used to 
drawing, or more patient in trying to do each thing 
well that he undertook, certain it is, a neater per- 
formance he made when he finished it. 

“ And now for your other plan,” said he, rising 
and putting by the paper, with mine too, in his 
portfolio : “ for, having got on the track of a habit- 
ation, we must lose no time. Remember the rainy 
Reason that will soon be on us.” 

By this, we had come back to our company, from 
whom we strayed in our talk : Don Manuel, seeing 
the three savages eyed the monstrous cuttle-fish with 
longing eyes, as though they would have fallen to, 
and devoured it outright, proposed to give them 
*eave ; “ for none of us,” says he, “ will have much 
taste for him, I suppose ; and, to be sure, not our 
poor Ricardo, that hath suffered so much from him 
already.” But first he desired to secure a bag of 
inky fluid, or sepia, as painters name it, this strange 
fish is always furnished with ; whereby he can dark- 
en the waters around him, and thus escape from his 
enemies, whether fishermen or brother fishes. So, 
borrowing Tom Harvey’s knife, he cut out this ink- 
bag very dexterously from the dead fish, and filled 
his ink-bottle from it ; then took one of the cocoa- 
nut shells and poured the rest into it, stopping the 
whole with clay ; to be able, he said, to record 
the rest of our adventures in this place of exile. 

But we made up our minds to secure some portion 


172 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

of our big fish for our own supper, too ; for I had 
read, ’twas a delicacy in former times as well as our 
own : so, slicing ofiT as much as we thought to 
make a broil of [there being enough of the monstei 
for us all, and to spare] we wrapped this in some 
cocoa-nut leaves, and let the savages have the rest , 
after I had secured the back-bone to make some 
polishing powder, and the parrot-beak of his mouth, 
for a trophy. 

We left the two sick men asleep where they were, 
but not without devising a live telegraph between 
us and them. We made signs to the old Indian to 
climb up a tree, one of the highest in the wood that 
lay between the rocks and that cove of ours, which 
we henceforth called always Shark Bay. This tree 
overlooked both sides, and we could see the Indian 
watching in it, too, as he sat there among the 
branches. 

As we went along, taking the other two savages 
with us, I told Harvey and Gill that, as we had 
practised various trades in this our new and strange 
life, we were now to turn masons and stone-cutters 
also, to make us a cave wherein we might lie snug 
during the rainy season. They agreed to this readi- 
ly, expressing themselves willing to labor, as indeed 
they proved to be. So, going as straight through 
the second wood as the tangled trees would let us, 
we tried to hit that same cliff we had climbed up in 
the morning. We judged that to be a convenient 
spot, by reason of the separated mass of rock that 
leaned towards it ; for the crag both hid the place 
where we meant to burrow into the cliff, and gave 


THB CATHOLIC CRU801. 


173 


ns an easy ascent to it : some of us afterwards called 
it our hall door, and some our grand staircase, or 
companion ladder. 

’Twas some little time, indeed, before we found 
our cliff again ; in part, from the thickness of the 
wood, but we rejoiced at that, as giying security to 
our hiding-place ; also, because we now came upon 
it from a different side. But by keeping our right 
shoulders as near the ridge of the rock as the thick 
woods allowed, we knew we should surely come 
on it at last; and soon we did, to our joy. 

When we placed ourselves between this leaning 
rock and the cliff it had fallen from, we discovered 
’twas just the place that suited our needs ; for about 
the part where these rocks leaned nighest together, 
there was indeed a kind of hole in the native cliff, 
not much bigger than I have seen a mountain fox’s 
burrow ; but it gave us hope we should find the 
rock not too hard or stubborn to work. This hole 
lay perhaps ten feet below the brow of the cliff, and 
’twas difficult to come at it : but that fitted it the 
more for our purpose, if only we could make con- 
trivance to enter it from above, or from the leaning 
rock over against it. For the time, we determined 
on the first way, as less dangerous ; so we set about 
contriving a rope to lower one of us after another, 
in turn, to work at this hole, and enlarge it into a 
cavern. 

But where in this wide world should we provide 
us a rope ? Nothing in that shape had we, but the 
twine, and my fishing lines, both much too slight 
to bear our weight, put them all together. Think as 


174 THl ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

much as I could, I could devise nothing to the puD' 
pose ; when Don Manuel said, laughing — 

“ Now you shall see ^sop’s fable put in practice 
in an island he never dreamed of I so true is it, wis- 
dom is the property of the human family every- 
where.” 

I did not understand him, I own : but by this I 
had got used to think over what he said, and find 
it true. 

“ Look at those strong creepers,” said he again — 
“how they climb about the trees, and lace in and 
out; well, no one of them would bear us by itself; 
but put a dozen or so together and bind them round 
with our twine, and you shall see we shall soon 
have rope enough” — 

“ To hang us all,” broke in Harry Gill, who never 
could keep back a joke that came into his head. 

“ Or to hang the captain and first mate, not to say 
those gentlemen who landed us here so civilly the 
day before yesterday,” added Tom Harvey. 

Don Manuel smiled at Gill’s remark, but did not 
looked pleased at the other ; however, he went on 
about his rope. 

“ Union is strength,” said he ; “ and what is be- 
yond the power of one, can be done with ease when 
more than one are combined. You all remember the 
fable of the old man and his sons, and the bundle of 
sticks, I dare say ?” 

“No indeed,” answered I: “pray tell us, sir," 


THB CATHOLIC CEO SOB. 


176 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

WHAT IS THUTH ? 

Just then, the old Indian, our watchman, shouted 
from the tree where we had left him on the look-out. 
We all started, and caught up our arms again ; hut 
there was no occasion, for we found he was calling 
to the men we had left asleep, to show them where 
we were. Soon, Prodgers and Harry came to us 
through the wood ; then the Indian clambered down 
from his perch, and joined us too. 

Xow we began to reap advantage from having 
more pairs of hands than we had landed with : for we 
no sooner showed our Indians what we were after, 
and that we would have them collect these creepers 
for us to make a rope, but they sprang up the trees, 
(at least the two younger) with the nimbleness of 
cats, and soon tore down enough for us to begin 
upon. I scarce think our trade of rope-making 
would have come to much but for these savages, who 
showed themselves ingenious to a degree, in bind- 
ing together the green withes by others of a like 
kind, round and round, at every three feet or so ; 
till, after a good two hours’ work, we saw ourselves 
possessed of a passably strong and pliable rope, fit 
to bear a good weight, and eighteen or twenty feet 
long at the least. We were all proud of our new 
cable, and began bending and straining it every 
way to try it ; but it did not bend nor untwist, so 
well had our poor ’prentices worked it. 


) 76 THE ADTENTURBS OF OWEN EYANB, 

Our next concern was, to find something of 9 
cross-bar to reeve into our rope, that our mason 
might sit on, while we let him down to work at the 
entrance door. Harvey and Ned Hilton went 
searching through the woods for some fallen branch 
— but I drew Don Manuel aside, to impart to him 
what had come into my mind ; for, as we had to 
break up the condemned gun to make chisels and 
other tools, I thought it best this should be done 
apart from the savages, lest they might lose their 
great dread of those guns whereby they were kept 
m such great awe. So we agreed to take it deeper 
into the wood ; and beckoned Harry Gill to come 
along with us, leaving Prodgers to look after the 
Indians, who were still hard at work, finishing the 
rope. And this we did now, with no apprehension 
of their being hardly dealt with, so changed a man 
was Richard Prodgers become, and from a lion, or 
a bear rather, had grown more like to a lamb. 

Ry dint of much hammering with stones, and 
bending the barrel back and forward, till it broke at 
last, we got two long chisels or augers out of our 
old gun ; they were rude enough, to be sure, but 
proved serviceable. One of them, and that was the 
shorter, we kept still fastened on to the stock, to 
have more purchase on it in working. Don Manuel 
carried these back, wrapped in his cloak, till we 
could conceal them better from the savages. But 
Gill went on before, and left us together. ^ 

I had gained that confidence in the priest, ’t would 
have made me uneasy to hide from him my thoughts 
when they chanced to turn on what was the right or 


TUK CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 


177 


wrong of any case; and just then, a thought came 
mto my mind as we came back together out of the 
wood. 

“ I know, sir,” said I, “ what some people in my 
country would say to what we are doing.” 

“ What would they say, friend ?” answered he, 
and looked me straight in the face, and walking on 
quietly. 

“ Why, to be plain, that ’tis deceiving these 
savages to break up the gun by stealth, that they 
may still think the guns to be something more than 
they are.” 

“ Eh, Senor,” returned he, “ how long is it ago, 
since you thought we might perhaps even enslave 
them ?” 

“ Well, sir, what I say is because it came into my 
head, and I wanted to discuss it.” 

“ True, my dear friend,” quoth he in his own mild 
way ; “ and ’tis my duty and pleasure alike to an 
Bwer such questiont to the utmost. Let us see: you 
think we ought to tell them outright, a gun is a gun ?” 

“ I would not like them to think,” answered I, “ a 
gun was an idol or a god.” 

“ Nor I neither,” replied he, grave enough ; “ but 
are we making them think so by any act of ours ?” 

“ We break up the gun in the wood, out of sight,” 
persisted I, “ lest they should lose their fear of our 
other guns.” 

“ I will answer you in this way,” Don Manuel 
said, after a moment, smiling. “ When I was a 
boy I went to a school in my native town kept by 
one Lopez Tuero d’Alava: he was rather a stem 


178 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

man, and very stately in his ways. We boys looked 
up to him as the greatest man alive, and he took 
care to keep us impressed with that belief. One day 
the governor of the province, his Excellency Don 
Pedro Guzman da Cuenca, came suddenly to pay a 
visit to the school, and entered at the head of all his 
train. The schoolroom was filled with guards, 
chamberlains, attendants of all kinds, in waiting on 
the great man. When our first surprise was over, 
we all looked anxiously to see what Lopez Tuero 
would do. Had he taken off his hat, or made any 
sign of submission to the governor, perhaps his au- 
thority in his school would never have been what 
it had been, for we should have learned there was 
a greater man in existence than he. This he knew 
quite as well as we did. So, rising from his desk in 
his most stately manner, he moved down the school 
with the air of a king receiving an ambassador, or 
any other great man treating with his equal, wear- 
ing his hat as if it had been nailed to his head. High 
courtesies passed between the two, till the governor 
took his leave ; and it was not until after I had en- 
tered the University of Salamanca, that I learned, 
Lopez went the next day to the governor’s palace, 
cast himself on his knees before him, and humbly 
begged pardon for having acted in a way he had 
felt was best for those he had under his charge. 

“ Now,” pursued Don Manuel, “ was that a 
wrong deceit ?” 

’Twas more than I could answer out of hand, yet, 
thinking a moment, “ I suppose,” said I, “ he felt it 
necessary.” 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


179 


But was it wrong ?” insisted he again, because 
what is wrong never can be necessary.” 

“ May not a lie sometimes be necessary ?” asked L 

“ Never !” exclaimed the priest, and seemed to 
put his whole soul into the word as he spoke it. 

“ And is a lie always wrong under all circumstan- 
ces ?” 

“ Always ! always !” repeated he, still in the same 
way. 

Now indeed I felt somewhat puzzled, for ’twas the 
point I had in my mind as to the breaking up of our 
gun secret. Don Manuel saw this ; for he had, I am 
sure, a great quickness saved my putting it in words, 
which I was loth to do. 

“ I know what you are thinking,” said he, “ as 
though you said it ; and I will say it for you. Cath- 
olics, you have always heard, think little of truth; 
are careless about it i and a priest is likely to teach 
it to be a matter of small importance. Is that it ?” 

I was startled, I own at the way he put his finger 
on that ; for it was just what ran in my thoughts. 

“ Well, listen then,” he went on. “ The teaching 
of the Church is, that a lie is in its own nature evil; 
that it is a sin that, being a sin, ’tis a greater evil 
than anything imaginable, w’^hich is not an equal or a 
greater sin : ’tis a greater evil than any mere misfor- 
tune, or series of misfortunes; greater than pain, sick- 
ness, poverty, bereavement, death: greater than 
famines, pestilences, earthquakes, or the destruction 
of the globe itself. For, these calamities, dreadful 
though they be, affect the creature: but a lie, as 
being a sin, is aimed against the Creator: So, if by 


180 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVAN*, 

telling a lie I could save your life, my dear friend, 
and the lives of all our companions; if I could by 
one little lie work out the conversion of our poor 
savages, and secure the salvation of us all : nay, of all 
England, all Spain, all other nations and countries 
together : if by telling a lie that would harm nobody, 
that would only be a little venial sin, I could empty 
Purgatory (which you don’t believe in) of all the 
suffering souls it contains ; and block up the mouth 
of Hell (which I suppose you do believe in) that no 
soul should ever cast into it more : I should be doing 
the greater evil to obtain the lesser good. And after 
this, what do you think of a lie ?” 

I remember these words, as I here set them down, 
because they were so impressed on me at the time by 
his manner as he spoke them. Then he went on to 
say, ’twas one thing to deceive a person by word or 
deed, to state falsehood to him, or act falsehood be- 
fore him ; and quite another, to allow him to draw 
his own conclusions from what he observed, when 
you did nothing to lead him that way, and when you 
had just cause for letting him have his opinion, at 
least, for a time. 

“ If,” pursued he, “ we showed them, a gun might 
be broken by working at it with a stone, they might 
try the experiment while we slept ; and then what 
becomes of our lives ? Another boat-load of savages 
might land on the island ; or these very men, with 
the craft and cunning they have learned at their 
mother’s knee, might take a fancy to sacrifice us to 
the sun or moon, to secure a good voyage home 
again. Then we are murdered, and they remain 


TH* CATHOLIC CRUSOH. 


181 


heathens. Is it not for their good, as well as ours, 
that we should not disarm ourselves by taking away 
their wholesome fear in our fire-arms ?’ 

After a little while, neither of us speaking, the 
priest added : 

“ I gave you a sort of parable ju»t now : well, let 
me give you another. Suppose a furious murderer, 
with drawn sword, rushed suddenly upon a child, 
and threatened to kill it unless the child told him by 
what road its father had left the house, that he might 
go after and take his life. What would you ad- 
vise the child in that case ?” 

“ I think there is no doubt at all,” said I readily. 

“ But what ?” insisted he. 

“ Of course, the child might tell the murderer the 
wrong road ; nay, ought to do so to save its father’s 
life, or indeed any person’s life.” 

“Then the child might tell a lie?” 

“ Could it not point down the wrong road ?” I 
asked. 

“ That would be a lie in insisted he, “ and as 
truly a lie as one in words.” 

“ Well, then, the child might tell the lie, or act 
the lie, either way, for such an object as to save a 
life.” 

“ You are right wrong, my friend,” returned he, 
laughing: “for no one ought to do any such thing.” 

At this, I looked at him in some surprise. 

“ Did I not say,” he went on, “that a lie is always 
a sin; and that a sin is greater evil then any mere 
misfortune? Now, ’twould be a great misfortune, 
doubtless, for the father to lose his life, and the child 


182 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANf, 

to lose its father : but no child, nor any one, has a 
right to make even a venial sin avert even a great 
misfortune.” 

What he said turned out so clean against my ex- 
pectation, and he proved so much more severe about 
truth than I had supposed him, I had nothing to say. 

“You remind me now,” pursued he, gaily, “of a 
bad horseman, who, when you put him up on the 
horse at one side, falls over on t’other. A while 
ago you stumbled at what was lawful, and now no- 
thing will content . you but that falsehood must be 
lawful in an urgent case. Extremes ! my dear friend, 
extremes ! And you see, extremes meet sometimes.” 

“Aye,” he added, thinking, and slowly, “we must 
always go from side to side of the road, like an un- 
steady drives, unless we have a sure guide and a 
sure track.” 

“ And who or what is that guide ?” asked I, for I 
felt anxious for his answer. 

“ Aye, indeed,” said he, very slowly, looking me 
in the face ; and said nothing more. 


TBS OATHOLIO OSUtOB. 


CHAPTER XXX 

THE serpents’ HOLE, 

By this we had come back to the rest ; and set 
about our operations of mining into the rock : but 
first we had to decide which of us should take the 
lead in being lowered to explore the hole. I thought 
of casting lots for it, as ’twas a post of honour and 
of danger alike ; for we knew not what we might en- 
counter down there, whether some wild cat-o’ the- 
mountain, or, more likely, a brood of serpents in 
their nest. But Don Manuel insisted on being first 
to explore, in a way I knew not well how to answer. 
“ If anything befall me, friends,” said he, “ you will 
be little the worse of it ; but you could ill spare the 
help of one another in your exile.” I would still 
persuade him not to venture ; but he finished all by 
saying cheerfully : 

“ ’Tis on the banks of the Ganges, I have heard, 
children are used to eat their parents because they are 
old and useless : and you may as well let the wild 
animals have a chance with me for the same rea- 
son.” 

“You have quoted a heathenish example for us, 
sir,” answered I ; “ but I suppose it must be as you 
will : and we will stand watching you above, be 
sure, to help to our utmost in case of need.” 

So, having knelt down to a brief prayer apart, and 
made the sign of the cross over himself, he threw off 
his long cassock ; and bidding the men knot our new 


184 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

rope fast round the roots of a cocoa-palm that grew 
near the edge, and keep a good hold, as he said srnih 
ing, “ for the honour of the British flag,” he slid 
from the clifl* and swarmed (as our sea-phrase is) 
down the rope, till he soon had his feet resting on 
the edge of the hole : he carefully bent himself 
down, and looked in. 

Before we could count ten, we heard him cry out, 
“ Pull up, pull up quick !” We did it with a will, 
yet so as not to scrape his hands and face against the 
cliff ; and soon we caught him in our hands, and had 
him safe again on the top. Then he told us, we were 
right in our conjecture, for that the place was swarm- 
ing with serpents. 

On that news, we determined to smoke them out 
of their hole, or smother them in it ; and making my 
wish known to the savages by signs, they soon col- 
lected for us some brushwood and other branches, 
pretty dry, in places sheltered from the storm. But 
we would not as yet trust them out of sight, and 
made them know it by our threatening gestures ; 
though I believe the poor simple creatures had now 
become so attached to us, as well as looking on us to 
be some superior beings whom they could not oppose, 
we might have trusted them all over the Island. 
However, they soon gathered us a good heap, enough 
to have smothered whole families of serpents ; and 
did more than that, too ; for John Pounder, crying 
out, “ Kukui kukui pointed to a kind of dwarf-tree 
with grayish leaves, that looked like an olive at a 
distance, though we had not noticed it before : mak- 
ing signs, ’twas good for our purpose. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


185 


I let him have his way ; so off he darts to the 
tree, and comes back with some biggish nuts in his 
hand, motioning to me to cut a slender stick sharp at 
one end with my knife. I did this to humor him ; 
so he plants the stick upright in the earth, the sharp 
end uppermost ; and sticks three or four of the nuts 
on it, one over the other. I signed to the rest to be 
still, so Pounder had it all his own way ; and ' his 
next performance was to get a light after his country 
fashion, which I had heard of, but never seen done 
before. For he begged so beseechingly for the use 
of my knife, I colild not deny him ; but threatened 
him again to make no bad use of it. He searched 
about a while, till he found a short thickish branch, 
of the bigness of my wrist ; he quickly brought the 
end of this to a point with the knife ; then, coming 
to a stump of tree that had been broken off by some 
former storm, quite dry, and half touch-wood, he 
held the point of the stick on it, and began twirling 
it about with the palms of his hands as swiftly 
as ever you saw a machine bore a hole into a board 
with an auger. He had not done this for five or six 
minutes, when first there rose a little smoke, then 
the tree smoked pretty thick, and all at once there 
burst forth a fiame of fire under his hands. 

Our men expected this so little, for they had laugh- 
ed at Master Pounder’s contrivance, that now they 
greeted his success with a hearty cheer: and the 
other savages showed, in their own fashion, they 
were glad he had pleased us, though noways surpris- 
ed at what he had done : for it seems, this method of 
kindling a fire is their oommon way. But now, 


186 THB ASTENTURBS 01 OWBH BTAK8, 

gathering up a handful of dry leaves, he kindlei 
them, and comes to the nuts strung upon the stick ; 
and they took flame readily, by reason of an oil they 
are fllled with. Then Pounder, while the nuts burn- 
ed sloivly down, like a candle, prostrated himself be- 
fore us again, till we bid him rise. 

To And candles thus ready made, and growing on 
a tree, pleased us greatly then, and more afterwards, 
when we came to use them in the winter evening. But 
for the time we had, as the saying is, other fish to fry : 
for we were to dislodge the serpents in the hole by 
fire and smoke ; and take possession of their lodging 
And the way we set about it was this : 

We tied up our dry brushwood, with the leaves in- 
side, into bundles, or faggots, as many as seven or 
eight of them, ranging these in order on the top of 
the cliff : but first, we sent Pounder for some more 
candle-nuts, and thrust a few of them into each bun- 
dle, as I have seen housewives in Wales bind up a 
pitched stick in a faggot, to light their fire the better. 
When all was ready, and nothing wanted but to 
descend to the hole, and so set fire to the first bun- 
dle, and push it in with others after it, to give our 
gentlemen there a warm entertainment, we ques- 
tioned, which of our number to send on this adven 
ture. For now we knew the fulness of the danger 
we felt sure, unless the man who went down were 
quick and steady, to stop the mouth of the hole with 
the very first bundle, one of the serpents, or more, 
would spring out on him ; and we guessed that to be 
certain death. All of us stood looking, one on the 
other; and at length, we well nigh thought to give up 


THl CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


187 


the enterprise, and seek some other place. But then 
again, this place was so commodious, or might be 
made so, for its dryness and security, we took up our 
resolution to make the venture. 

But this was put an end to by the old Indian; I 
may as well call him Mark, for that was the name we 
gave to him when he was baptized somewhat later. 
He now drew near to us with as much reverence as 
before, holding John Pounder by the hand. He 
made us a long speech in his own tongue, of which 
we understood not one word ; but he went on, partly 
speaking, and part by signs, to offer Pounder for 
this venturesome feat, who, for his part, offered him- 
self too, with great eagerness; expressing, by many 
odd gestures, his contempt for the serpents : (for the 
savages had made out from our signs, ’t was serpents 
that inhabited the hole.) 

The men had gained that degree of good feeling, 
as that none of them were willing to risk our poor 
apprentices in this service of danger. But, to our sur- 
prise, Don Manuel now urged that Pounder should 
be allowed to go down. 

“ ’Tis not here,” said he, “ a question of life agamst 
life, nor of equal danger to one or to another ; in 
that case I would say, let none of us go. But I be 
lieve these savages are so used to deal with serpents, 
and disarm them of their fangs, or can so easily find 
a simple remedy in the woods if they reeeive a bite, 
that ’tis little risk to them by comparison. I could 
tell you a story (only it would take us too long now) 
to show this ; but I have heard many such, from 
trustworthy persons.” 


188 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Pounder seemed to understand his meaning, in 
great part ; he nodded his head with many grimaces, 
then, taking up one of the green withs we had bound 
about our rope, he twisted it every way, to represent 
a serpent ; wound it on his arm, shook it about, 
laughing all the time, and finished by stripping off 
the end of it with his teeth, to show us, that was how 
he would bite off the snake’s head for him. Then he 
pointed to my knife, and the hanger by my side, as 
begging me to grant him the use of them : so armed 
with these, he went to the rope, as though he would 
slip down it at once. 


CHAPTER XXXL 

NOTICE TO QUIT, 

“ Avast,” cried Tom Harvey ; “ were it not best 
we should load a brace of the guns with small shot, 
and fire into the hole, to bid them look out for us ?” 

W e all agreed to this ; only, we thought one of the 
guns enough, not to waste powder and shot : we put 
in a full charge, and gave the piece to Gill ; for since 
his victory over the shark, he was our captain of 
marksmen. But this proceeding was very much 
against the grain of our savage friends; who, I 
truly think, would sooner have faced a wood full of 
serpents than one discharge of our terrible guns. 
They cast themselves on their faces, and remained 
there, trembling, while Harry Gill leaped back across 


THE OATBOLIO CRUSOE. 


189 


the gulf with his gun, and clambered leisurely down 
the hanging rock ; and this was a work of danger, too, 
for he had to go down the under face of it, as it 
leaned over him. However, he kept his footing, with 
the gun slung over his shoulder ; and went down 
with hands and feet two or three yards, till he came 
all but opposite the hole. Then he leaned against 
some twisted roots springing out of the rock ; un- 
slung his piece, with a good aim, and so fired into 
the hole. The piece made a terrible report, being 
discharged in so close a place ; the echo went back 
and back again from cliff to crag, and from crag to 
cliff ; and the poor Indians were half dead with fear. 
Out of the hole there came sounds of hissing, by 
which we knew, however much execution the shot 
might have done, yet Gill had not killed all the brood. 
But, what was worse, at that moment, whether from 
the shock or his weight, or both, the roots that poor 
Harry had learned against, now gave way under him. 
He had but just time to catch at some saplings as he 
fell ; but he managed that, like a nimble seaman as 
he was : and there he hung by his hands, I am sure 
full three fathoms above his mother earth. 

We, who watched all this from the cliff, were so 
distracted at the sight, that what to do we knew 
not : for, did we pursue our advantage over the ser^ 
pents, we must leave our comrade hanging there, and 
then drop he must soon, to the peril of his neck or 
bones : or did we go over to help him, we feared our 
enemies might escape from their hole, and glide 
down, and so get at him if he should fall before we 
came to the rescue. 


190 THB ADTENTURBS Of OWEN EYANB, 

Amid the confusion of our thoughts, as we looked 
this way and that, the priest called out, with all the 
decision of a general leading his men to the charge, 
and a voice like a trumpet : 

“You, friend Owen, take my cloak; away with 
you, and Tom, and Hilton ! Hold it under him ! 
Break his fall. Ricardo and I will do the rest here 

Quick as thought, we obeyed the words : I seized 
on the cloak, and cleared the gulf at a bound. The 
other two were after me ; and how we found our- 
selves on firm ground below with our necks unbroken, 
we never stayed to inquire. But we spread out the 
cloak under our messmate, and held on hard, keeping 
it taut, perhaps five feet off the ground. Then we 
hailed him, and bid him drop himself soft and steady. 
So indeed he did ; but withal his weight broke away 
the cloak out of our hands, pulling us all down to- 
gether in a heap. Though his fall was greatly 
broken by the cloak, he did not altogther escape, 
neither; and coming down lengthways, bruised and 
stunned his head a little, but hurt his shoulder 
more. 

No sooner did Don Manuel see him safe (though 
somewhat the worse of his fall,) but he beckoned 
Pounder to go down the rope ; at the same time, he 
slung down a bundle of our combustibles to the 
hole’s mouth, having kindled it from our stickful of 
nuts, that was burning stilL The Indian went down 
quick, as readily as if there were no serpents within 
a mile of the place ; and with Don Manuel’s staff^ 
pushed the burning faggot right into the hole, which 
H quite stopped up ; then with my knife he cut the 


THB CATHOLIC CBUSOS. 


191 


twine, and the priest hauled up the end to tie anothef 
faggot, and let it down to him. So they went on, 
faggot after faggot. Master Pounder doing his work 
well ; though I believe he would sooner have shown 
his skill in wringing the serpent’s necks than smother- 
ing them thus by blockade. 

We made out by the loud angry hissings that 
came from the hole, our enemies had no other way 
of escape from us; a thing we had rather feared, for 
in that case our fire would have driven them out and 
dispersed them in the woods, to make the whole 
place unsafe for us. But one, and ’twas a smaller 
one, found means to glide out through some unper- 
ceived cranny, and wriggled himself with great speed 
df' wn the face of the cliff: but we had an eye to him, 
imd just before he alighted, I scotched him with a 
stone. 

When last faggot had blazed out, John Poun- 
der, swinging by the rope, made no difficulty of 
thrusting his head and one arm into the hole, though 
the smoke was like to blind or choke him : then, in a 
few moments, drawing back again, he shouts out 
“ Oora, oora /” which in their language, it seems, 
means very good-, laughing now to us, now to Don 
Manuel above ; and in his hand a was serpent, dead 
and half roasted, that he kept swinging about, and 
then flung it down to us. So, by degrees, with the 
end of the staff and his hand he rakes out nine more 
of them, great and small, one after the other, and 
flings them down. When he had finished this, 
^‘Well,” cried I up to him, “ well John, are there 
any yet to come out ?” He understood what I would 


192 THE i^DVBNTUliES OF OWEN EVANB, 

ask, and shook his head, laughing, and cried out 
again ; “ Oora, oora^'‘ with a wild hoop, that made 
the rocks ring about our ears. Then, shutting his 
hand tight (for he held on to the rope by the other, 
together with his feet,) he stretched forth, first one 
finger, then another, counting all the time, till he 
came to five then shut his hand again, and so did 
the same over a second time : then one finger alone, 
and so pointed to the ground, where the serpents 
were lying all about : to make us know, there were 
but eleven in all, and they dead or dying there 
below. 

This was joyful news, you may be sure ; we now 
looked on the place as our own, and were impatient 
to take possession and begin our mason’s work at it. 
But by this, the light warned us, no more was to be 
done at that time ; and we must think of supper, 
and our night quarters. We told Pounder, by signs 
(for, what with fire-lighting, and his other services, 
we began to look on him as our special footman) we 
would have our fire kindled : this he soon did, with 
the help of the other two, who gatliered the brush- 
wood fast enough, while we sat at our ease, and 
talked over the day’s adventures. Then we supped, 
as we could, on cuttle-fish ; though we found it coarse 
and strong-tasted, not the delicacy ’twas said to be ; 
Out this fish was one, which might be the cause; 
tnough indeed not so large, by far (if all ta'es be 
oe true) as they are found in the Indian seas. Only 
Richard could not be prevailed on to taste a bit : so 
we gave him all the cocoa-nut we could spare, which 
was not much; and he eked it out with a little sup 


TH* CATHOLIC CRUfO*. 


from his bottle. As to the Indians, they made a 
horrid meal on the roasted serpents ; in which we 
cared not to disturb them. But when we had done, 
and Don Manuel had said grace for us, we called 
the savages to us again, not to lose sight of them in 
the dark. 


CHAPTER XXXIL 

THE MOTHER TONGUE. 

Seated round our fire, we whiled away the time 
in teaching our savages a little English. They sur- 
prised us, truly, by their quickness in learning our 
words, with some short sentences we taught them by 
degrees ; and I may here say, that in four or five 
days or so (for Don Manuel and I worked at it with 
them a little every day) we contrived to hold talk 
with them pretty well about common things. Only 
we got out of our depth, for want of expressions, 
when we would come at their notions of religion, or 
the nature of the earth, the sky, the seas, and so on ; 
all which the priest labored at with great patience, 
as I shall set down in order. We were curious to 
know their names for some things, as well as to im- 
part to them ours ; and we went about it thus : 

I would point to the fire, then look at them, nod 
to them, opening my mouth, moving my lips as 
though I would speak, but indeed not speaking at 
all ; then I would put my hand to my ear as though 
I listened for something they were to say ; thus J 


194 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BVANS^ 

made them understand I desired to hear their name 
for the thing I pointed to. This went on well 
enough, for when they once made out my dumb 
show they answered very readily. Then, listening 
to what they said, I would shake my head, and 
look a little displeased, as though that were not the 
true name, and I misliked the sound of it ; then I 
would give the English, and repeat it three or four 
times, till they caught the sound ; and I would do 
80 louder and louder, as insisting they should repeat 
it after me, which they did willingly, and seemed 
delighted with the new name, for they kept on re- 
peating it till they had it perfect. 

In this way we learned some of their Indian, too. 
I suppose the language will die out if white men 
come to penetrate into those native countries of the 
savages, or at least ’twill become mixed and 
changed. So I here set down some of the words 
they gave us, till they had got our English so well, 
we ceased to ask them further. 

First I will set down the name of their country, 
which we made out after some pains ; for ’twas a 
hard question for them to comprehend : at last they 
did, and gave the name of it, TooncUi-nooka. They 
described it by signs, that ’twas an island, with fia- 
other island lying near it, smaller, and either not 
fruitful, or disagreeable from some cause, or maybe, 
at war with the inhabitants of the first : for when 
they named it, J ohn Pounder shook his head with a 
look of disgust, and pushed out his hands as though 
he would push the island from him j this second 
island they called Hauvavaoo. 


THK CATHOLIC CRUSO*. 


195 


The young savage, whom I will call by the name 
he gave himself, Foula-faihe (but later we christened 
him Samuel) drew a plan of these two islands very 
neatly with the end of a stick in the sand, as we sat ; 
«ind while we let him work on, he finished such an 
xcellent raised map of the two islands as I never 
saw exhibited in a museum. He hollowed out the 
sand, and smoothed it, to represent the sea-level : 
then got some sharp stones and shells to stand for 
the cliflfe and headlands of their island ; he also stuok 
in a few leaves and sprigs for the groves of trees ; 
then he raised up some little mountains in miniature, 
as the saying is, “ making a mountain out of a mole 
hill in a word, he worked at his map with that 
diligence that he soon had it completed in the rough. 
So, standing up, he looked on it with much satisfac- 
tion ; clapping his hands together, he danced round 
it, he leaped across it back and forward, pointing 
now to one island, singing out all the time, “ Too 
nali-nookaj'* then “ Hai-vavaoo.’*'* But Poundei 
stopping in his talk with us to examine this maj 
misliked some parts of it, and began to alter them 
He pulled up one of the groves, knocked down a 
cliff or two, or changed them to other places : car- 
ried away a mountain here, set it down there, and 
made such changes as pleased him, but displeased 
Samuel in turn ; in the end they appealed to the 
old man as umpire in their dispute. And the old 
Indian’s decision had all respect from the other two ; 
for no sooner had he spoken, and made some alterar 
tions of his own, than all questions were set at rest 


196 


IHB ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVAMi. 


CHAPTER xxxm. 

VARIOUS DISCOVERIES. 

Pounder told us, too (in his way) this larger 
island took two months to go round it in a canoe — 
pointing to the moon, for a young moon had be- 
gun to appear, then holding up two fingers, and 
sweeping his hand round Poula-faihe’s map of the 
island : then motioning with his hands as though he 
were paddling one of their canoes. It was very fer- 
tile, he said, and well wooded (so he expressed by 
pointing to the trees round us, then to the leaves and 
sprigs the other had stuck in the map, making signs 
of pleasure and admiration) and that it had a great 
many inhabitants ; for so he told us by pointing to 
himself and the other two Indians, opening and shut- 
ting his hands several times, and calling out Eaha- 
fwue each time he did it. And this was all we 
learned from him that night : for Don Manuel called 
us to prayers, and soon after we were all asleep, 
having wrapped our guns carefully in our jackets, 
and laid them under our heads, together with the 
broken one. But we had before agreed Ned Hilton 
should watch for us to-night till he saw the savages 
asleep : indeed he had not long to watch for it. 

Our hard day (so it had been to us all) made us 
sleep so sound, we woke later next morning than 
our wont; when we found a clear sky, and the 
irnd quite gone down, as if no hurricane had 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


197 


olovm at all ; for indeed by this time it had blown 
itself out. A flight of parrots came screaming and 
whistling over our heads, with troops of monkeys 
too, chattering after their way in the trees : so there 
was noise enough, as Gill said, to pipe all hands 
from the hammocks. Up we rose, and shook our- 
selves free from sleep : then, by a common feeling, 
all looked for Don Manuel, as our chaplain. He 
was a ew paces off, reading his prayer-book to him- 
self; but so soon as he saw us risen, he put by, and 
came to us. 

“You have stopped your own prayers for ours, 
this morning, Senor,” said I, coming to meet him ; 
and I pointed to the men who were ready. 

“ I am happy to do so, my dear friend,” answered 
he ; “ and ’twill give me another reason to say a 
Gloria Patria when I begin them again.” 

So, without more delay, he shook hands heartily 
with the men, all round; then we all knelt down 
together, and the three Indians, seeing this, followed 
our example, out of submission, I suppose. The 
priest led our devotions, praying with us, and for us ; 
and he put in some little petitions, suited to the 
change in our state from the arrival of the savages: 
as, that we might be kept from the sins of tyranny, 
oppression, and injustice to our inferiors ; that they, 
too, might remain submissive and peaceable, and at 
length have grace to become Christians. This, with 
beseeching the Divine majesty we might be kept from 
sin through the day, and from all evil accidents or 
sudden death, and might advance His glory and our 
salvation, made up the priest’s short and fervent 


198 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

prayer. Kor need I mention after this, he had got 
us all so into the way of praying, as that we fell to 
it regularly thenceforward : and soon the men would 
as little have thought of going without morning or 
evening prayer as losing their breakfast or supper. 

Breakfast, indeed, now engaged us all ; though 
we had but some scanty slices of our enemy, the 
cuttle-fish, with a little pulp and milk that remained 
of our cocoa-nuts. We broiled the fish and pulp 
together, to make out a meal; for I was in haste, 
and they too, to get dowm to the shore and see after 
our shark : or, indeed, our sharks, for we now hoped 
to find the hurricane had lifted the skeleton one too, 
handier to us. Prodgers, though, could not be got 
to taste of the cuttle-fish ; being persuaded, say all 
we could against it, there was some poisonous quality 
in the meat of the fish as well as in the suckers of its 
limbs, that made his face all of a smart even now. 
As w^e had dressed our whole larder, already, poor 
Richard had a chance of going without his breakfast ; 
when Samuel, our young Indian, seeing this, stood 
up, and bowing down before us, made a little speech, 
pointing to an open space beyond the wood. 

We could not well make out what he meant ; only 
that he promised Prodgers something to eat, out of 
the earth : for he made as though he were digging, 
or tearing up some vegetable with his hands. We 
had gained confidence now in our poor savages, that 
they would not desert us, nor do us harm: so I 
waved my hand to him to be oflf on his errand, and 
he darted away like an antelope, striking up for the 
middle of the island, as though he would make for 


THE CATHOLIC CKUSOE. 


190 


Prospect Hill. When he had been gone a few min- 
utes, I doubted my wisdom in letting him go at all ; 
and hallooed after him to come back to us : but pres- 
ently he came back through the woods at another 
point, and appeared laden with some large vegetables 
on his shoulders, though he still ran very fast under 
the weight. When he came panting up to us, and threw 
them on the ground, those of us who had been in the 
West Indies (and that was the greater number) knew 
them to be yams. 

This was a precious to us ; more so, by far, than if 
we had found a mine of rubies or diamonds on our 
walk. We might now look on our kitchen-garden 
as indifferently well stocked (what with bread-fruits, 
cocoa-nuts, and now yams beside,) let us remain on 
the island as long as we might. Don Manuel did 
now just what he had done when we discovered the 
bread-fruit : he held a yam in each hand, having first 
laid his hat on the ground ; he raised the yams as a 
thank-offering to heaven, and said his Gloria Patri. 
But the difference now was, joined by us all in this, 
as a matter of course : so much can misfortune and 
good example soften the hearts of the rudest. 

Then, raking together the ashes of our fire, we 
peeled one or two of the yams, and sliced them ; these, 
with some oil from our candle-nuts, make out Rich- 
ard’s breakfast pretty well. But the water herea- 
bouts was brackish ; for I suppose the see-water 
filtered in through the soil. And this, we saw, might 
prevail against our making our abode hereabouts, 
except we could discover some other spring, or find 
means to convey pure water liither from a distance. 


200 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

The badness of the water was Richard’s excuse foi 
taking a little pull at his bottle : after that, he sur- 
rendered it to me with a good grace, saying he would 
have it reckoned into the common stock, and kept for 
a case of sickness, or other need. So we all took our 
way down to Shark Cove. 

We were sorry enough to discover, so soon as we 
got clear of the trees, not the shark only (though he 
was there, too) but the dead body of that fourth 
Indian, whom we had seen drowned as their canoe 
capsized over the reef ; the body had been flung by 
the force of the -tempest, high and dry, and lay 
stretched on the sand. The savages set up a loud wail 
on seeing this ; they ran to the body, and began to 
lament over it, after their fashion. But I believe ’twas 
more out of custom than much regard : for we made 
out from them, he was not of their kinsmen, though 
of the same tribe ;= and had gone a-fishing with them 
when the hurricane caught them all, and drove 
them on the island. However, the first thing we 
had to do was, to give the poor savage decent, if not 
Christian burial : we set to work on a little risingj 
ground, safe from the reach of any tempest ; for 
nothing but another deluge (we thought) could touch 
It, though we lived to find our mistake. 


ME OATHOLIO OBDSOS. 


201 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 

▲ FUNERAL, AND A LESSON FOR THE LIVINO. 

The grave was long in digging, to make it deep 
enough : though we had nothing to dig with but a 
kind of flat sharp stones, like slates, that we found 
near the spot, yet, as we had leisure for the work, 
we thought to do it thoroughly ; and putting our 
hands together we made the grave, I am sure, near 
five feet in depth. Then the old Indian, who had 
asked by signs, to go into the wood, came back with 
a load of leaves of the cocoa, palm, banana, and other 
broad leaved trees, together with a quantity of the 
same creepers we had made our rope out of. In 
these they lapped the body of the dead Indian from 
head to foot, and bound it abont ; then, at our 
bidding, they lowered him carefully into the grave. 
When we came to know them and their ways better, 
we found they did this out of submission to our will, 
thinking the white man’s way mnst be best in all 
things. For their own custom in disposing of their 
dead is, to place them on a ledge constructed of poles, 
in some place apart, till with the sun, and weathei 
and process of time, they are wholly consumed. 

But now Don Manuel, standing bare-headed over 
the grave, lifted his voice, and said aloud ; “ May 
the Lord be merciful to all whom He knoweth to be 
His I” With that, we shovelled in the earth, and made 
the grave secure with such large stones as we could 


202 ra* ADTENTURES OF OWEN ETANS, 

find about; some, indeed, so large, we were forced 
to roll them, two and three of us together, to tlie 
spot. This we did, to secure it against being disturb- 
ed by any wild animals of prey that might haunt tlie 
island ; though as yet we had seen none such. Then 
we named the place Indian's Rest^ and so left it be- 
hind us. 

Our next concern was the shark, which had been 
thrown somewhat further up the shore ; for he was 
the sport of the hurricane at its first burst, but the 
Indian only came to land when it began to abate. 
A big, ugly monster did this fish look, truly, as he 
lay along there ; and called forth from us again some 
natural expressions of thankfulness for having been 
kept out of his cruel jaws. After consulting, we re- 
solved to skin him first, and then cut him up : neither 
of them pleasant things to do, but useful to us in our 
need. “ He is a mine of wealth to us, friends,” said 
I, “ as I told you. We shall get shagreen from his 
rough skin, and then oil from the liver, knives and 
arrow heads from the teeth, and all kinds of instra- 
ments out of the bones.” “ And pickled pork,” add- 
ed Hilton, merrily, “ from the flesh, could we but salt 
it well, for many a long day to come.” 

“ From his aws, too,” said the priest, “ which we 
will set on a pole, we shall have a memento to calm 
us into content again, if we are tempted to repine 
at our present lot.” 

“ Aye, indeed,” chimed in Prodgers and Harvey 
together. 

“ I warrant,” says Harry Gill, “ our ’prentices ” — 
he looked at the priest, and laughed a little, but 


TH« CATHOLIC ORUSOB. 


203 


’IwaB now in a civil sort of way, “ have skinned a 
shark for their own use before now. What if we 
bid ’em do it, and leave the job so ?” 

This seemed fair enough ; so putting our knives 
into the Indians’ hands, we made them know, we 
would have the monster skinned, and that his skin 
should be carefully dealt with to preserve it. They 
set to work cheerfully, and with skill, too : when I 
saw from their first slices, they would do justice to 
our wish, I proposed to the rest to go back and work 
at our habitation in the rock. We left Richard, with 
his gun, for a captain over the savages : and now 
Don Manuel said he would take his turn at watching 
from the tree, as the old Indian had watched before. 
“ I have some of my prayer-book to read,” says he, 
“ and can do that as well in the tree as on terra 

“ I believe indeed, sir,” answered I, as we all went 
along, “ you could pray anywhere.” 

“ My dear,” he answered with great affection, and 
his hand on my shoulder, “ in all parts of our lives, 
and everything we do, ’tis not so much where we are, 
as what we are.” 

“ That ’s true, indeed,” says Hilton ; “ I little 
thought, when an old uncle of mine took me, I may 
say dragged me by the ears, to church in our village, 
the Sunday before I ran away to sea, the next time I 
prayed (except once, when I prayed in a storm) would 
be on a savage island in some unknown latitude, no 
one knows where.” 

“ In No MarCs Land, eh, Senor ?” asked Don Man 
nel, looking on him archly. 


204 


THE ADTENTURB8 OF OWEN EVANS, 


“ Ah,” says Tom Harvey, laughing, “ that was 
what old Dick said when we first landed, and he 
grumbled at having the place called Manuel’s Is- 
land.” 

“ I don’t think,” said I, “ Dick would make that 
kind of speech now. From the rough old tar he once 
was, ’tis wonderful to see him ’fined dowm into another 
being.” 

“ Many people,” the priest said taking up his for- 
mer vein, “ think they would be better Christians, 
and more able to save their souls, were they in difier- 
ent circumstances, surrounded by other prople, en- 
gaged in other duties, and I know not what else. 
How, ’tis true, each man has a vocation to be this or 
that, would he take pains to discover it. But ’tis 
likewise true, all depends on the interior will, wheth- 
er a man shall be good or bad ; whether, too, he 
shall be slothful or fervent in good. He may be good 
in a camp of soldiers, or bad in a choir of monks : 
for God gives him liberty, and sufficient grace, which 
he may use, or sin away, at will.” 

“ And could he be good in a ship like the old Spit' 
asked Hed Hilton, more grave than his wont. 
I had forgotten to say, that was the vessel we had 
all embarked in. 

“ If any one,” answered Don Manuel, “ should find 
himself where he could not be good, from the flood of 
wickedness all around him, he would be bounden to 
depart out of that place as soon as he might. For 
he has to save his soul in the first place, and to fulfil 
other duties of life in the second. That is what wo 
Catholies are used to call, avoiding the occasions of 


TKK CATUOLIC CRUSOE. 


‘206 


sin. But come, here is my tree ; which gives me the 
occasion of serving you. So we will fulfil what is 
expected of us ; you to work beyond, and I to watch 
up here.” 

“ Watch and pray, sir,” broke in Harry Gill, “ as 
the parson used to say in Korth Budenham, where I 
was brought up.” 

“ And if the parson had never said anything worse 
than that,” answered the priest, rather gravely, “ I 
should have had some respect for him. Let us 
not make a jest, friend, of sacred words.” 

So saying, he clambered into the high tree, and 
left us on our way to the cave. 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

OUTWriTBD. 

Up the rock we were, and sprang across the chasm, 
eager to begin working at our hole. It soon appear- 
ed, yesterday’s attack on the serpents was a triumph ; 
for we saw nothing, nor heard either, of any more of 
that family. We were glad, too, that the fire having 
burnt so freely showed the place to be free from 
noxious vapours within : for these would have quen- 
ched any fire as well as quenched human life. So 
we now cast lots among us, which should begin our 
mason’s work ; each man wishing to be first : but no 
two could work together till the opening was made 
bigger. The lot fell on Ned Hilton : so down the 


206 THJ8 ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

/ope he went, merrily ; and lashing himself fast to it 
by aid of the twine, twisted with four or five strands 
together, be made all snug, and began chiselling 
Away. 

He soon found, to our satisfaction, the rock was 
very proper for our purpose ; being composed of a 
dark sand, or sandstone, such as I have read is found 
in plenty about the city of Rome, made up (as is 
thought) of sand once thrown out of burning moun- 
tains, hardened and compacted by time. It worked 
freely under the stroke of Ned Hilton’s chisel, 
though that was a rude mason’s tool enough : but 
we, who watched from above, thought he was mak- 
ing the entrance too wide ; so we called to him, to 
leave that as small as that a man could creep in on 
hands and knees (lest the place should be discovered 
easily,) and work more to the inside. In forty min- 
utes, about, of hard hewing, he fairly made his way 
within ; then, unlashing himself, he called for anoth- 
er to come down. 

Harvey now begged for his share of the work, too ; 
so I sent him down, while I stood watching ; and, to 
be short, between them they worked a passage of 
nine feet, or so, into the living sandstone rock, wide 
enough for the two to work abreast, though not high 
enough to stand upright : for they crept along and 
chiselled on their knees. It seems, they wanted to 
discover if the whole cliff were made up of the same 
rock ; which they found it to be, with this in their 
favour, that it grew softer the further they got in : at 
length they worked it easy enough, and threw out 
the loose sand with their feet. But crack or hollow- 


IHl OATHOLIO CBUSOI. 


207 


they found none, as they hoped, to make their labour 
easier ; so ’twas plain, we must make good every inch 
of the way, by sheer labour. For my part, I was glad 
of this news ; I though any chasm in the rock would 
be filled (more than likely) with such poisonous 
vapours as had nearly been the end of Harry Gill on 
our way down from the volcano. 

When I found, by their voices they were well into 
the heart of the rock, I must needs go down too, and 
take my part in the business. So, without bestowing 
a thought on securing the rope, I slid down to the 
hole and crept in as I could, for the rubbish hindered 
nie greatly. But the rope had now got so loosened 
from the roots of the tree we bound it to, by the 
weight of three men upon it, one after the other, that 
’twas a mercy I had not broke my neck with my 
want of heed : and it gave occasion for some enemies 
of ours to play a trick on us that might have cost us 
dear enough, as I will now tell. 

Ho sooner was I got within the hole, than I heard 
a noise of chattering above, and swinging of bran- 
ches, such as I could not well account for. But it 
made me somewhat anxious, as I well knew (by re- 
port, at least) the cunning of savages, who might 
have lain concealed in ambush all this while, waiting 
for their moment to take me unawares. And 
truly, a more favourable moment for them scarce 
could have been; for with their arrows and javelins 
they might have killed us all three defenceless in the 
cave there, before we had brought our arms to bear on 
them ; or have overwhelmed us at that disadvantage 
by numbers, in spite of our shot. I looked up, and un- 


208 THl ADTINTURES OF OWEN ETAN8, 

slung my rifle, ready to do what I could ; but before 
A had time to fire, what was my vexation to see a dozen 
monkeys’ faces that peered and grinned at me from 
the clifif ; and the shaking of the rope plainly proved 
they were tuggmg at it to loosen it from the tree. In 
short, whether ’twas from mere imitation of what 
they had seen us do in tying it, as they watched us 
unnoticed from the trees around; or whether some 
instinct of mischief more than common is possessed 
by these strange caricatures of ourselves, I know 
not : but within a minute, at the juncture w'hen I had 
got ready my rifle, to discharge it upward, with no 
hope of killing, but every hope of frighting them 
from their mischief ; at that very moment, I say, the 
rope came tumbling about my ears ; and, but that I 
caught one end, would have fallen to the ground be- 
low. 

Let me be as vexed as I would at this mishap, I 
could not forbear laughing, neither, at the cunning of 
our enemies, and their success. But there was no 
help for it, but only to go on with our work, and 
wait till the rest came to us, and so wdth their help 
make fast the rope again. I would not throw it down 
out of my hand, though ; lest some unforeseen chance 
might cause us to need it to let ourselves down; 
though nothing less than a mere necessity could 
persuade us to that ; for the rope did not reach the 
ground, I am sure, by fourteen feet or so, and he 
might have likely met a shrewd fall who should at- 
tempt it, beside leaving his last comrade [if not twoj 
imprisoned still in the hole. 

So we worked on, in quietness if not content, fo? 


THR OATHOLIO ORUSOE. 


209 


three hours more, or thereabout, one resting always, 
and two working, each by turns ; by which time we 
had got a prodigious way into the living rock, con- 
sidering our number of hands. I say, one resting ; 
but I mean, one was not handling an instrument ; 
but he had worked, all the same, though of a lighter 
kind, in shovelling the loose sand with his feet to- 
wards the entrance, then shovelling it over the edge 
to get rid of it. 

We meant to work straight inwards, to discover 
what we might ; but, having with us no level, nor in- 
strument to gage our work by, and keep us straight, 
we found on looking back, it was bad irregular 
work, indeed : for here it rose, and there it fell again, 
and here the height was greater, and there it was 
less. Only, we had not turned much to the right or 
left ; at least, nothing to speak of : for in that matter 
we guided ourselves by the light behind us. 


CHAPTER XXXVL 

WB AIM AT A PROVISION STORE. 

We were pretty tired now with our morning’s 
work, and thought it high time we were released out 
of this hole : the air, too, had become hot and stifl- 
ing, and our limbs felt cramped to a degree by the 
straitness of the place. ’Twas no good wishing to be 
out, however; so, as a first effort, we joined our voices 
in as loud a halloo as we could raise all together; 


ttit THB 1DTBNTUB18 OF OWEN BTAN8, 

then waited and listened. But whether the depthi 
we had reached stifled our voices [for we could not 
be at the mouth all at once, and were all much in 
each other’s way,] or whether the sound was beaten 
back by the rock opposite, we got no answer to our 
hail. Again we tried it, and a third time; but 
heard nothing from Don Manuel : we then began to 
think we should have to stay there till the others had 
finished their work with the shark, and came to look 
after us for dinner, or supper, rather. 

“ Once more, comrades,” said I, “ with a long pull, 
and a strong pull ; as if we were cast adrift on the 
open sea, and were hailing a ship as our last chance.” 

So, putting our hand to our mouths, and our whole 
hearts into it, we gave such a hail as (I think) three 
men had seldom given before ; so that Hilton fell 
back exhausted after it. But we had now the satis- 
action to hear Don Manuel shouting to us in return, 
from his tree ; though the sounds came to us very 
faint. Nor could we hear him at all when he turned 
the other way [as he afterwards told us,] and shouted 
to Prodgers and the Indians to come to us quick, not 
knowing what might have mischanced. 

The savages were quick enough in coming ; for in- 
deed, they were the swiftest creatures I ever beheld 
afoot all but old Mark, and he, too, distanced Prod- 
gers in the race, by a good deal. No sooner did 
they see our plight, than catching at the rope’s end, 
Samuel [who ran in first] was up the rock in a twink- 
ling, and over the gulf in another, with Pounder after 
him ; and knotting the rope firmly again to the tree, 
he slipped down, and darted into the hole, to giveui 


THl OATHOLIO ORUSO*. 


211 


help. By coming on us thus of a sudden, it is true, 
he preceived our broken gun plain enough : but ’twas 
all one to him ; he thought [I suppose] we could do 
as we would with those terrible engines, so great 
was the power of white men. Nay, when we bade 
him take up the piece of gun, and go on with our 
work, he did so with great obedience, handling it 
with some fear, indeed, but more curiosity: and 
Pounder creeping in just after [for by this time old 
Mark was on guard at the rope above] we faiidy set 
them both to work, and gladly swarmed up the rope, 
to get a breathing of the fresh air. 

We then went down, as before, by the hanging 
rock, and met first Don Manuel, and next Prodgers, 
who arrived soon, somewhat the worse for his race. 
Yet he found breath to tell us how the Indians had 
not only skinned, but cut up the shark too, in good 
style: so that, had we but tubs and brine, all waa 
ready for pickling the monster, or some quantities 
of him. Brine, truly, was there in plenty, in the 
great salt sea on all sides of us ; but where should 
we get pickling-tubs, for love or money ? However, 
talking it over, we were so possessed with this no- 
tion of pickled shark, as put us on contriving some 
way, if even rude and imperfect. Could we make 
shift to dig salt-pans in the earth, and line or smear 
them inside with somewhat that might serve us for 
mortar, to keep the pickle from soaking away into 
the ground, and to slice up our shark, and lay him 
in the brine, and cover him over air-tight ; could we, 
I say, have contrived all this, our task had been 
done. But that was, to my thinking, as reasonable 


212 THl ADTINTURIS OF OWEN BTAN8, 

as if I should exhort my companions to build us a 
ship out of the trees of the island, and so sail away 
from, our place of exile ; or to do anything else tha^ 
was out of our power altogether. 

I gave them my thoughts, however, as we went 
along; and finding them to catch at this; “Well, 
sirs,” said I, “ let any one propose a method to make 
a lining for our salt-pan.” 

“Caulk it,” says Harry Gill, who was ready 
always with the first word, ” as you would caulk the 
sides of a ship.” 

“ And where’s your oakum, then, and your caulking- 
irons, and your rosin and your boiling pitch ?” asked 
Prodgers, grumbling a bit, in something of his ancient 
fashion. 

“ Boiling pitch !” says Don Manuel, thinking ; “ ah, 
that gi ves me an idea : I should not be surprised if on 
this island of ours, which was plainly once a burning 
mountain, we found such a pitch spring as is met with 
in other like places, where the pitch comes hot out of 
the ground, at boiling point.” 

“ Or, could we find some such clay,” Tom Harvey 
said, “ as might be proper for the purpose.” 

“ Nay,” answered I, “if we light on any clay, we 
have found pots and stew-pans in plenty with a little 
care and labour ; and we must needs come to some- 
thmg of that, if we are not to live like savages to 
the end.” 

But meanwhile, we agreed to prepare some slices 
of our shark for dinner, in the way we had taken for 
our first dinner on the island ; and this we did with 
©ur own hands, for we could not, as yet, trust the 


TBB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


218 


•avages, who might (we thought) find means topois- 
on our food. 

We dug an oven in the ground, we gathered wood, 
or our servants did it for us, rather ; for having them 
at hand, we now grew lazy at that kind of work: 
then Pounder kindled our fire, as he did before, and 
we heated our oven with stones, then filled it with as 
many slices of the shark as ’t would hold, with the 
remainder of our yams. So, banking it over with 
earth, we left it in charge of Prodgers, who was the 
least active among us on a march ; and Don Manuel 
stayed with him too. 

We took the savages with us, all but old Mark; 
for he with the priest and Prodgers, was to do some- 
thing in the way of digging holes in the sand, to stow 
away the rest of our shark in, for the chance of pre- 
serving him. The six of us started on a party to ex- 
plore the island for a league or so northward, along 
the east shore ; and particularly to look out for any 
potter’s clay, or such natural pitch as Don Manuel 
had spoken of. But, for this time, we found nothing 
of the kind, nor came to aught particular in other 
ways ; only that in a piece of marshy ground we lit 
on a self-sown plantation of bamboo canes. We 
hailed these with joy, foreseeing they would prove 
useful articles to us, as they afterwards did, foi 
several uses. Some of the middle-sized we tore up 
by the roots ; though that was a hard task (so deep 
were they bedded in the mud,) yet easier than to cut 
them with our knives. 

Having loaded ourselves and Samuel (for I sent 
hack Pounder to help in the great larder business, 


214 THB ADYINTUBBS OF OWIN BTANS, 

before we had reached half a mile ;) having, I say, 
got our load of bamboos, perhaps three or four dozen 
in all, greater and smaller, we found ourselves pretty 
well knocked up with our wading, knee deep or 
more, through the slush and mud that had lain in 
our way. For several streams, running down from 
the neighborhood of Prospect Hill, discharged them* 
selves into the sea on this side the island ; and some, 
being blocked up with coral reefs and banks of sand 
when they came to the shore, rose on their channels, 
and formed marshes and quagmires that made our 
travelling difiScult enough. 

So we turned our faces homewards (if we could 
call it heme) slow and weary; and glad enough we 
were to cast down our burdens of bamboos at length 
where the skeleton of our shark was lying ; for the 
rest of our number had so completely disposed of 
him, that I might call him a skeleton almost as much 
as the one we dragged out of the water. They had 
buried portions (as much as would last us for months, 
if only pickled) in six or seven small pits they had 
contrived to dig ; and the two Indians were cleaning 
away at the bones with great diligence. To be brief, 
we lit our evening fire under a spreading tree, a little 
distance from the shore; our supper of shark we 
found palatable enough to men who had hunger for 
their sauce ; then we spent the dark hours talking 
over our day’s adventures, till ’twas time for prr /er, 
and 80 to bed. 


fu OATHOLIO CRT} SOX. 




CHAPTER XXXVIL 

TUB FIRST CATECHISM. 

I WOULD fill a book, and a good one, to relate the 
talk that went on between Don Manuel and the 
Indians, by our watch-fire o’nights. I will give one 
of these discourses, so well as I can recall it : only, 
as I do not undertake to put the savage’s broken En- 
glish into fitter language (as I cannot pretend, 
neither to very choice English myself,*) it must be by 
jotting down just what they said, as far as memory 
will serve. 

“ John,” said the piiest to Pounder, who was bury 
fixing some shark’s teeth into a handle, to serve for 
a saw ; let me see if you remember what I said to 
you yesterday. Attend, now, for our talk must be 
serious. How many gods are there ?” 

“ White Sa,” answered Pounder [so they called us, 
trying to say, Sir,] “ he say, none but one.” 

Don M. “ But do you not see, yourself, there can 
only be One ?” 

♦The state of education in Wales duriug Owen’s younger 
days must be taken into account in criticising his entire pro- 
duction. Supposing him to write fifteen years, or so, after 
the events he records, and to have spent a part of that time 
in civilized society, we have still to account for the total 
polish, and even accuracy of expression, which marks his 
narrative. It has been thought, however, that it would prove 
more satisfactory to the general reader k) have Evans’ plain 
unvarnished tale presented to him in the dress in which the 
author clothed it. And it must be remembered, that the 
“ Welsh schoolmaster ’ of that day stood as the very type of 
much that was rude and uncultured ; as the very reverse of 
the “ schoolmaster abroad” — E d. 


216 


THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


Pounder. “ White Sa, he say yes. Me s’pose 
me no know. Rer-mimepolamha know small,” He 
meant to say, he was ignorant, and understood but 
little. 

Dm M. “ But Rer-mimebolamba, can think. If 
there were two Gods, or many, would they be equal, 
one as great as the rest, one as powerful as the 
rest ? or would one be greater, more powerful ?” 

On this, poor Pounder mused for some time ; then 
he said, meekly : “ Me no know ; me say as White 
Sa he say. Eberyting all right.” 

Dm M. [smiling'^ “ Yes, but that will not do, 
You must know and believe for yourself, my dear. 
Listen to me again ; What is God ?” 

With much reverence he said this, and raised his 
hat as he spoke, bowing his head. Pounder bowed 
his too, but said nothing. Mark, the old man [his 
Indian name was Toefaoloo,] took it up here. 

Mark. “ White Sa, Paowanga, he our god. Erron- 
anatoona, he our god. Tamaete-solloo, he our god. 
Haveoeekee, he our god. Eaha-noue, eaha-noue 
[great many, great many,] he all our god” [he could 
not express the plural, they^ in his English.] 

At this. Pounder and Samuel nodded, and kept on 
saying, ^'‘oora, oora.^'* 

Samuel. “ And Kongadoowaia” [pointing to the 
moon,] he our god.” 

Mark. “ Oorr, oora, Poula-faihe :” as much as to 
tell the young Indian, he had well spoken. 

Dm M. “ But which of these gods, think you, is 
the greatest ?” 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 217 

Samuel, “ Me s’pose, Kongadoowaia, he most 
most.’' 

PouTider, “ Unan, Unda [no, no :] Erronanatoona 
he most most.” 

Mark, “ Udan, Rer-mimeholamha : me s’pose, 
Paowanga, he most most : me s’pose, Havaeoeekee, 
he most most.” [He meant by this, he could not 
decide in his mind, which of the two he named, was 
the greatest.] 

Don M. “ So, it seems you are not able to balance 
among them all. But I say to you, now, there can- 
not be more than one God. To say, many gods, is to 
say, no God. None of those you tell me of, is God 
at all.” 

Mark. “ Me s’pose, none of ’em god at all ?” 

Don M. ‘‘ Well, then, is there no God ?” 

Mark. “ Me s’pose, no god. Eberyting all right, 
White Sa he say.” 

Don M. “Ah, poor creature ! hast thou lived all 
these long years, and grown old, in this dark state of 
soul ? Good Lord, assist me to do somewhat, and 
enlighten this soul which Thou hast created ! Now, 
Toefa-oloo, tell me : where does God live ?” 

Mark. “ Me s’pose, Erronanatoona, he live here 
[pointing to one quarter of the heavens :] Tamaete- 
solloo, he live here [pointing to another quarter :] 
Paowanga, he live Toonatinooka [the name of the 
island they came from :] Havaeoeekee, he live in 
oloeeo : Eaha-noue [he meant, all the rest of his many 
gods] he all live here, here, here, here, here” [pointing 
about on all sides, up and down.] 

DwnM. “ And what is oloe^ 


!^18 THB ADVINTURES OF OWEN EVANE, 

Old Mark seemed not well able to explain what ho 
meant by this : he sat for awhile, and looked into the 
fire, shaking his head. Presently, Don Manuel 
tried Pounder, to make him explain it better. 

Don M. “Well, Remimebolamba, do you tell 
us, what is oloeeo ?” 

Founder. “White Sa, oloeeo all same as place 
where Havaeoeekee he live, he sleep, he stay.” 

Don M. “ Is it up there, then ?” [pointing to the 
Heavens.] 

Pounder, shaking his head. “ IJdan, udan.” 

Don M. “ Where is it, then ?” 

Founder, “ Rer-mime ( so he called himself, for 
shortness,) leave it Rer-mime’s house six suns back,” 
He would have said, six days before. 

Don M. “ Left it in your house ? is it so small ?” 

Founder. “ Rer-mime hold it so, so” (doubling up 
his hand.) 

This caused a silence again: we could none of us 
make out what he meant by this oloeeo At length 
Don Manuel began to question him once more : 

“ What is it like ?” says he, “ what is it made of?” 

Pounder held up the shark’s teeth he was working 
at, and the handle he was fitting them into ; and 
said 

“ Oloeeo this way.”* 

* In an account of the island of Madagascar, of about the 
same date as this narrative, mention is made of an owley 
(probably the English version of some native word,) as being 
an amulet in frequent used in that country. It it supposed to 
be the residence of one of the local demons, and, like the 
Fetish of the African tribes, appears to be regarded at once 
as a charm, or talisman, and an object of quasi-adoration. 
These owleys are described as small and portable, “ made of 
a peculiar wood, in small pieces, neatly joined, and making 


THB CATHOLIC CBU80B. 


219 


Don M, “ And do you think, one of your godi 
lives in a thing like that ?” 

Mark interrupted here, but with great respect: 
“ White Sa, Havaeoeekee he live-in oloeeo this day, 
he no live in oloeeo that day,” meaning, not always. 
“ He live in oloeeo, if no Paowanga he drive him 
out some time.” 

In short, the deeper we went into their miserable, 
dark misbelief, the fuller did we find it of absurdities, 
each gainsaying the other. Nor did they seem to 
have so much as the first rude notions of the true 
God, nor capable of receiving them from us as yet : 
though they submitted to all the White Sirs chose 
to say on that, or any other matter. But such dis- 
courses had a good effect on our men, though seem- 
ingly lost on the savages : for after a while, Harry Gill 
broke out with saying: 

“ ’Tis a great treasure. Sir [as I find,] we have had 
all along ; though I fear me, I have little thought on 
it. We have always known there was one true God ; 
and that is something these poor niggers, it seems, do 
not.” 

“ Indeed, ’tis something,” answered the priest, “ and 
much as the foundation of all beside. Then, also, 
you have known, that the true God has spoken to 
you.” 

Harry GUI. “ Spoken to me. Sir? As how ? I 
don’t understand that.” 

almost the form of an half moon, with the horns downwards, 
between which are placed two alligator’s teeth; this is adorned 
with various kinds of beads,” etc. It is not difficult to suppose 
the narrative referred to, and this passage of Owen’s adven- 
tures, to present us with soniething in common.— Ed. 


220 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


Dan M. “ Has He never spoken, my friend, t« 
your understanding, or to your conscience, or to 
your heart ? And did He never speak to those that 
went before you, from whom you have derived, at 
least, a part of His message ?” 

Gill seemed puzzled to know how to interpret this : 
he remained for a little while thinking ; then said, in 
a low tone : 

“ I never heard God’s voice. Sir.” 

Don M. “Well, we have talked enough for to- 
night : but if you would desire to know what I mean, 
I will tell you to-morrow night, if we live. May 
God give us rest now, and eternal rest in heaven.” 


CHAPTER XXXVHI. 

WORTH THINKING ON. 

Something in what the priest had said gave me a 
sleepless night, I well remember : and ’twas chiefly 
on account of these words of his ; If we live. I had 
somehow taken it as a thing of course, in spite of 
dangers and chances that had befallen, me, I should 
live to a ripe old age, after all. True it was, I had 
heard of others dying on a sudden, when they and 
their friends least thought on it; I had seen even 
younger men die, who were shortly before in the vig- 
our of youth: also, in my studies and practice of 
surgeon, I had stood by many a deathbed, unable to 
stay that cold hand of death from grasping the 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


221 


heart-strings of others: all this had scarce taught 
uay own time was coming too. If I ever figured 
to my mind my own death, ’twas as an old man, dy- 
ing many years after: the real truth is, I scarce ever 
imagined it at all. 

But now, whether ’twas something had shocked 
me in the horrid heathenism of our new acquain- 
tances, who were living “ without God in the world,” 
or that those few words spoken by Don Manuel in 
his simple way, as of a thought familiar to himself, 
impressed me in a manner the same thing never had 
hitherto done : I lay before the fire turning them over 
in my mind ; they now possessed a strange power 
with me, such as I could not shake off ’Twas in vain 
to compose myself to sleep : still there came, as if 
it were a small voice, that whispered in mine ear; 
If you should live ; then. If you should die I Those 
two came, one after another, ringing through my 
brain, as it were, in turn ; like the solemn ding-dong 
of the two old bells I have heard, times out of num- 
ber, chiming to church in my native hamlet of Lland- 
dwy Cwmy jy.* If you should live ! If you should 

* Probably some obscure village is Glamorganshire, which 
seems to have been Owen’s native county, from his mention 
of Cardiff and Llantrisant, both situated within its confines. 
I am unable to assign an exact meaning to the addition, 
Chomyoy ; but the former part of the name signifies the Church 
or St. David. This is a name of frequent occurrence in 
Wales ; many churches having been dedicated there in hon- 
our of the great Archbishop of Minevia, the patron of the 
entire principality, whose name was given, after his death, to 
the present Catherdal and diocese of St. David’s. Thus, we 
have Llan-ddewibrevy(^. e. the Church of David on or near 
the river Brevy,) in Cardiganshire, the spot where the great 
British Synod was held early in the sixth century against 
Pelagius, at which St. David assisted. There is also Llan- 


222 THl ADTENTUEES OP OWEN ETAN8, 

die I If you should live ! If you should die ! I al- 
most tho'.ight I was dreaming, at one time. But no ; 
there I was, broad awake; and I did not so much 
think as listen to the words which some one else 
seemed to repeat and repeat again to me. 

I felt my pulse, and found it somewhat heated and 
feverish ; this, I began to think, might explain the 
whole ; yet, on the other hand, the voice [as I must 
call it] sounded so quiet and gentle, like the voice of 
a friend anxious for my good, and loving me ; and 
there were no disturbed visions before my sight, as 
would appear if a fever were setting m. 

I now gave up all thoughts of sleep ; I rested my 
aching head on my two hands, my hands on my knees, 
and set to work thinking in right earnest. If I should 
die I What then? I began to ponder. After all 
said and done, I was not so ill taught in some truths 
of religion, but I knew “ after death comes judgment.” 
But then Judgment, I had been used to think, was 
like to bear hard upon such villains as thieves, mur- 
derers, traitors, pirates, spoilers of widows and or- 
phans, robbers of churches, utterers of base coin, 
forgers, and such like; of which I was none, nor 
ever had been. 

That was a comfort, so far as it might go ; but it 
•omehow grew lesser, by a good deal, as I thought 
it over. For then I began to consider how many 
good gifts I had had given me, and that I must be 

ddewi-Abergwesin, in Brecknockshire, Llan-ddewi-Skirrid 
and Llanddwy-Rytlierch, in Monmouthshire, and doubtless 
many others in Wales proper ; to which may perhaps be add- 
ed Llandewednack at the Lizard Point, in the kindred Celtic 
district of Cornwall. Ed. 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


22a 


judged for them all ; what illuminations in my spirit, 
what a knowledge of the better path I had still not 
pursued ; how many examples from others, warnings 
and encouragements both in looks and in actual life; 
lessons at every turn : and I, like a perverse, ungrate- 
ful creature, had closed my eyes and ears and heart 
against all ! Now, as I thought on them, they 
seemed to multiply before me, just as multitudes of 
stars come forth at night when the man at the helm, 
or on the watch, keeps gazing into the sky ; dow here 
one, now there another, and another again, till the 
heavens appear full of them. 

So then, I began to see, every rational creature is 
accountable for his gifts to God, who gave them, if 
even he never hath offended against the laws of his 
fjllow-creatures : and a man, ’tis possible, may be re- 
spectable and upright (though I was unwilling 
enough to acknowledge it), and yet be condemned, 
1x)0, for offences against the divine law. 

WTiat (said I to myself) if the great Judgment 
shall take a like course with that providence which 
bestows talents and powers unequally on mankind ? 
I have heard men say human justice is a copy and 
image of the divine : and what is the known rule in 
all human courts ? Criminals are recommended to 
mercy, or receive a lighter sentence, if ignorance can 
be fairly pleaded for them : on the other hand, they 
are heavily punished m the degree of their knowledge 
or advantages. Then I remembered what happened 
in my boyhood, when once being taken to the Car- 
diff Assizes, and I little more than a stripling, I heard 
the trial of two men, one William Lloyd and one 


224 TH* ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Jones Pen Rice, for forgery, who were tried before 
Sir Peregrine Tullock and Baron Brainerd, when 
they went the Welsh Circuit that year. Lloyd was 
a poor, simple man, who could write hut ill, and from 
journeyman baker had become master-baker in a 
small way, and from that rose to be an exciseman 
but Pen Rice was a practiced schoolmaster all his 
days, and for smartness of scholarship worth two of 
the other. It came out on the trial that the school- 
master had overpersuaded his neighbor, Lloyd, to 
counterfeit the sign-manual of the junior partner in a 
linen-draper’s firm, while he himself had forged the 
name of the senior to some quittance or other. But 
the upshot was, the exciseman being no such adept 
as the schoolmaster, his clumsiness betrayed them 
both: so that every one that heard the trial wondered 
how so shrewd a man should employ so poor an in- 
strument when his neck was the forfeit. R’everthe- 
less, all things taken into the account, Lloyd got off 
with seven years in the hulks ; but Pen Rice was cast 
to be hanged, and hanged he was accordingly. To 
make a long story short, I well remembered the sen- 
tence of J ustice Brainerd in addressing the prison- 
ers, (his brother judge. Sir Peregrine, being taken 
with a touch of gout, and not able to sit that day, for 
the trial lasted two days and a half, so subtle a de- 
fense did Pen Rice make for himself and his accom- 
plice). 

“ For you, Jones Pen Rice,” said the judge, put- 
ting on his black cap, “ I can hold out no prospect of 
mercy from the Crown. Your education, your intel- 
iigence, the sacred duty entrusted to you of guard- 


TOE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


225 


mg the morals amd forming the character of youth, 
the influence which, by superior endowments, you 
acquired over your unhappy accomplice, and which 
you employed to so base an end, all combine to 
stamp your crime as one unpardonable in the eyes of 
man. That you may find mercy at a higher tribu- 
nal is my hope and prayer for you : to that end, I 
exhort you to spend the short time remaining to you 
on earth in fervent supplications to obtain forgive- 
ness of your crimes from your offended Maker. The 
sentence of the court is, that you be taken hence to 
the place from which you came, and that on the fifth 
morning after the present day you be drawn on a 
hurdle from thence to the gallows erected on the 
place called Piper’s Heath, and there hanged by the 
neck till you be dead, dead, dead ! and may the Lord 
have mercy upon your soul !” 

On which, I also remembered (for by this I was all 
but nodding off* to sleep ; and our snatches of dreams, 
we know, bring up strange fragments of recollection, 
and oddly assorted words and things, little thought 
on during the interval,) I remember plainly, I say, 
that when the judge had solemnly pronounced those 
words with a deep voice and shake of his head, and 
the crowded court was hushed, except the poor wife 
and daughter of the condemned man in the gallery, 
shrieking, and in hysterics, the head-waiter of the 
King’s Arms elbowing in near the judge, leaned for- 
ward, and said in a loud whisper : “ So please your 
lordship, my lord, my master bid me say, the haunch 
of venison will be ruinated and burnt to cinder.” 
Whereat the court broke up in haste, and adjourned 


226 


THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN STANS, 


to the duty of dining at the King’s Arms, to drink 
his majesty’s health, and the rest of the royal family. 

Just before I dropped to sleep, I heard Don Man- 
uel, speaking to himself : “ Toonati-nooka !” Me- 
thought he was practising the name of the savages’ 
island ; but looking at him, I perceived he was sound 
asleep : then I guessed, his dreams were taking him 
to that heathen place, and he was bent on something 
for their good. Presently, he became more restless, 
and began to murmur things that I could not catch 
BO well : all at once, he started, broad awake, crying : 
“ Save them ! Save them, or they perish !” then, see- 
ing me, gave a little quiet laugh, as though at himself, 
and turned from the light of the fire ; so I heard no 
more. 


CHAPTER XXXIX. 

A POSITIVE PEECEPT. 

But has my truant pen run away with me ? When 
I began this narrative of our misfortuners, I meant 
no more than to note the heads of what befell us ; to 
guide my memory more than for any other’s sake be- 
side : and already I have blotted many sheets with 
the history of a few days of our exile in that place. 
Yet our situation on the island was so strange as few, 
I think, could match by their experience ; and, had I 
but the fresh rememberance, as I have now the leisure, 
Buch uncommon things as befell us there demand as 


THE OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


227 


full an account, day by day, as I have given of them 
up to this. 

I know not whether to record the bare heads of the 
journal I began to keep, after our first week or so, 
on some of Don Manuel’s folio paper, and with the 
cuttle-fish ink ; or to go on drawing out at full what 
I then put down in brief: for, indeed, as I read those 
notes over, the whole time and place, and almost 
every word then spoken, seems to start up before 
me, though now some years agone, as fresh as any- 
thing I did a month since. As I write now, in my 
little parlour-room, looking over the harbour, with 
the pier-head and shipping right in front, my wife 
beside me, and my children round me, I seem almost 
to hear with mine ears, and to see with mine eyes, 
that past and half-savage life come round again. 
But there is a portrait that hangs against my wall, 
the portrait of my dear, most dear Don Manuel — God 
rest his soul, if he can need such a prayer — that looks 
down on me, seeming to bid me go on, and record all 
and eacli, to the best of my memory. How mild he 
shows there, and how humble: how grave, yet how 
gay, both strangely mingled ! My Yarmouth paint- 
er, that I tried to describe him to, has done his best 
to produce him on the canvas ; but the man has not 
caught that look, neither, and small blame to him. 
For that portrait’s sake, I will go on as before : least- 
ways, till I have completed the history of a week ; 
then we will see. 

Above all, could I but read, in turn, the thoughts 
of my readers (if any there should be,) to discover 
the interest they take in what interests me in the re- 


228 THS ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

membrance, I should know better how to guide ir.y 
pen. For a man maybe the hero of his own adven- 
tures, and to his entire satisfaction alone: as our 
old schoolmaster at Llantrisant was used to describe 
some conceited persons as sui amantes^ sine rivali. 
Bnt, rather than be counted among those self-satisfied 
prosers, who satisfy no one beside, I would cast what 
I have here written behind the fire, and turn to use 
my spare time somehow else. 

When we woke the next morning, our first thought 
(after our prayers,) was that pickling trade we had 
resolved to embark in : and it seems, we had all been 
thinking, or dreaming of it, for each one had his plan. 
Some were for digging a pit, or salt-pan, lining it, 
too, as best we might, with such earth or clay as 
came to hand; baking it hard with heated stones 
and burning wood, as we were now used to bake our 
dinner. Some were for hanging up the slices of 
shark’s meat to dry in the sun, basting them with 
salt and water, or rubbing them with handfuls of 
salt, which we might find in holes of the rocks ; so to 
pickle or salt them dry. At last Hilton cried out : 

“ What about the jars we left in the stream, that 
day we were betrayed, on ’t other side the island ? 
We have not bestowed a thought on them; yet they 
would serve us to admiration !” 

We all answered with one voice, that, indeed, ’twas 
the best plan we had hit on : though a second thought 
told us, how unlikely it was, the villains who had 
betrayed us would leave us anything so good or 
osefiil as the jars; yet we determined to form an 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


expedition, and hark back to that side of the island 
without delay. 

“Besides,” said Harvey, “we shall have some 
chance of knocking over another peccary, or so 
among the woods on our way.” 

“ Or what will be better,” added Don Manuel, 
“ of getting some of those oysters I saw on the rocks 
thereabouts.” 

Under favour, though, Sir,” returned Harvey, “ I 
see not how oysters are better than peccary for us.” 

“ Better for us to-day,” said the priest. 

“ To-day ?” asked I, taking it up here, and looking 
at him, surprised. 

“ Yes,” replied he, smiling, “ for the week is run- 
ning round, friends, and this is Friday morning, you 
remember.” 

“ Catholics, my good friend ?” asked he : “ certainly. 
But I have been told by those who know your 
prayer-book (for a fellow-student of mine at Salam- 
anca was preparing to be sent as chaplain to our 
ambassador at St. J ames’, and he had the curiosity 
to enquire;) it seems, I say, your own book enjoins 
you to abstain from meat on all Fridays in the 
year.” 

“ I fear me,” said I, surprised at this, “ the Spanish 
chaplain knew more of our English prayer-book than 
I : all I know is, I never heard of this custom being 
enjoined, nor knew of it practised, by anyprotestant, 
in my life.” 

“Now I think on’t,” says Tom Harvey, “ there 
was an old aunt of my cousin’s wife, that never 
would touch meat on a Friday, nor through the Lent, 


230 TBS ADYENTUBSS OV OWBN BYAN8, 

till she fell sick ; but then she had been brought up 
half a Catholic, by her grandmother ; and she again 
had this handed down to her by a priest, who came 
to that side of the country from foreign parts, and 
was hanged soon after at Worcester.” 

“ And why was he hanged ?” enquired Don Man 
uel and Hilton, both in a breath. 

“ Indeed,” said Harvey, “ I cannot say ; but he 
was looked on as a kind of rebel, as I’ve heard tell ; 
and would not take some oaths or other, I never 
rightly knew what.” 

So that discourse dropped for the present. 

I cannot pretend, what the priest had said on the 
point in hand came home with that force to us, that 
we readily conformed. For (as I now see) the pre- 
cepts of natural religion, planted in man’s heart as 
man, apart from revelation or Christianity, can ap- 
peal even to the half-awakened conscience, telling us 
such-like things as to assist one another in need, to 
deal justly and fairly, forgive injuries, ask forgiveness, 
abstain from offence, search our own conduct, come 
before our Maker in prayer, and so o-n. Whereas, 
here was a precept of positive law declared to us, 
beyond anything laid down in the law of reason 
written in my mind ; and the authority whereof I 
could not at once bow to. For my reason (if that 
were all) would still teach me, the animals I had a 
dominion over were as much given for my use on 
Fridays, as on Thursdays, Mondays, or any day 
whatsoever. From this arose my doubts, whether I, 
or the rest, could be held bound by such a law; to 
whidi we had never subscribed, either formally or by 


THB OATHOLIO CRT] SOI. 


231 


any other act, I thought, that implied it ; in which 
none, whether minister or layman, had iastnicted us 
by word or writing ; which our elders and betters had 
not observed ; which we had not heard of, read of, 
dreamed of, till that moment when Don Manuel 
brought it up on a sudden. 

’Twas, indeed, a small matter enough in itself; 
nor any denial, to speak of, for men who were used 
to fare hard, and held a piece of salted junk, with a 
biscuit half full of weevils, and a horn of weak 
grog, little better than bilge-water, to be feast for 
an admiral. But then, again, it came with an air of 
authority: though I would have done the thing ten 
times over, and heartily, to oblige a mess-mate, or 
relieve a poor disabled seaman ; my will (I own) 
kicked against it, when it claimed to bind us by an 
obligation. 

In this way I turned the question over for a while : 
but for breakfast, was no controversy, for nothing 
but shark was to be had ; and shark was fish, all the 
world over : so to it we set, and broiled some pieces, 
with yams and bread-fruit, having freshened our stock 
of these from the neighbouring woods, by help of the 
savages. But savages I must call them no longer; 
for, if they began by submissiveness, they were now 
iev()ted to our service : indeed, they told us after 
(wnen they had gained language enough) nothing 
could equal their joy to find by degrees, we were 
neither going to eat them, nor sacrifice them to our 
gods : this being their custom, it seems, with all who 
are wrecked or cast on their shores, or taken prisoners 
in war. 


232 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

After our fish-breakfast, we bore away north-north, 
east, at a smartish pace ; we all desired to see whether 
these jars remained to us or no: yet each I believe- 
felt unwilling (some more, some less) to revisit that 
part of the island where our great misfortune first 
had burst on us. But after all, during the five days, 
or so, we had spent in this strange unlooked for way, 
our minds had been so raised to better things, our 
hearts too, so calmed and softened, by the society 
and example [more even than his words] of the 
companion we had all learned to love heartily, that 
we were prepared, if not willing, to look again on a 
spot where we had cursed, and raved, and ground 
our teeth, so shortly before. 


CHAPTER XL. 

RAMBLING IN WALK AND TALK. 

From near the top of the mountain, where we 
stood three days ago, viewing the extent of the 
island, we had made out its length to be some three 
British leagues : that is, two full leagues south from 
the mountain top [as the crow flies,] and about half 
as much to the northward, on a rough guess. 
Coming, as we did now, from the extreme southeast, 
or nearly so, with an intention to leave the slopes of 
the mountain well on our right, we reckoned there 
lay before us a march of a couple of leagues, or 
thereabout. But the greater part of our way took 


THl CATHOLIC CRUSOl, 


283 


as through the thick woods, with high trees arching 
over, so we did not fear the heat. 

W e felt, though, our want of a compass on this 
inarch : the more so when we left the shore, plunging 
into the thick growth of trees, that might entangle 
and mislead us, to the loss of our time. If any chance 
reader should smile to think of our reckoning the 
value of time, seeing we had nought in this wide 
world to do with it, but to keep from sin and save 
our souls, as best we might ; let him consider again 
[as we did] that the rainy season was at hand, and 
we must needs house ourselves in the cave before it 
came on us. Indeed, we were so anxious about this 
[I mean, the priest and I, for ’t was our two heads 
alone that seemed to forecast anything, if I make 
some exception for Harvey,] I felt regret we should 
lose a day upon our expedition ; I think, had I not 
been ashamed to abandon it now, I had more than 
likely proposed to turn back to our mason’s work. 

However, what we had to do was, to note the 
position of the sun, and so guide ourselves by guess- 
work towards that channel, or inlet, of our first 
unhappy landing. Could we have used the sagacity 
of our Indians here, I doubt not they had struck out 
the path for us ; but they knew not whither we were 
going, and trudged at our heels, like as many faithful 
hounds. We kept all together, to guard against 
surprise ; and marched in this order : first came I, with 
my rifle ready for action ; next, Don Manuel with 
his piked stafi* ; then the three Indians each with a 
bamboo, which he had pointed at the end, and burnt 
the end hard with fire, so making it into a formidable 


234 TH« ADTBNTURES OP OWEN ETANS, 

kind of javelin, enough ; then Ned Hilton and Gill, 
whose office ’t was to keep a sharp eye to the savages, 
with their guns ready against the least sign of trea- 
chery ; next Prodgers, last, Tom Harvey, brought up 
^ the rear, each armed with a bamboo-pike too. 

Before we had got on very far, we were stopped 
by a marsh, that spread out so wide as made it im- 
passable : for we knew not how deep it might be in 
the middle. All we could do was to strike up to the 
right, keeping to firm ground ; we could see this 
quagmire was narrower to that side than towards the 
left, and so we judged it to be formed by some 
stream that came down from northward. Soon we 
found our selves right in supposing thus much ; for 
the soft ground grew less and less, until we traced 
the opening of a small stream that ran into it. 

Here we came upon another discovery ; and ’t was 
due to Hilton, whose foot slipping on a sudden, 
nearly brought Ned down upon his nose. As he 
looked to see what he had slipped on, he cried out : 
“ Clay, as I’m alive !” We crowded round the place, 
for this was joyful news to us all ; and found indeed, 
he was not mistaken : for the east bank of this small 
stream was made up of a greyish marl, or clay, very 
fit for moulding into pots and dishes, if only we had 
skill to bring to our material. We traced the clay 
[some of us searching up the stream, and some down] 
for sixty or seventy yards ; then we gave over, for 
we found we were rich enough to employ a score of 
hands, or more, in the pottery trade, had we been so 
numerous. 

We rejoiced at finding this, and rendered thanks 


TH» CATHOLIC CEUSOl. 


to God ; but would not delay on it for the present. 
Our only concern was, how to mark the place that 
we might come hither again when our house was 
built (I mean, when our cave was hollowed wide 
enough,) and employ our new-found treasure. 

“ And let that be soon, friends,” said Don Manuel ; 
“ for next to a lodging, a good householder looks to 
his furniture. In Holland, where I once was, the 
houses of the better sort, indeed of all, from the 
burgo-master down to below the middle rank, are 
ornamented chiefly with such glazed delftware and 
tiles as they have a great art in making ; and they 
have such wealth of this pottery-ware as descends 
from father to son, and is valued even beyond its 
worth. Though we cannot rival their native manu- 
facture, on our first essay, we may contrive, with 
care and pains, some vessel that will stand the fire, 
and cook a hash.” 

“ Or make a fish-soup on Fridays,” says Harry 
Gill ; and with that he made a little wry face, but 
the priest did not see him. And indeed, though 
Harry had rather taken the place of being scape- 
grace amongst us, which Prodgers had left vacant, 
there was no great malice in him, neither ; only he 
did harm, so far as it went, to Ned Hilton. For 
Hilton [as Don Manuel once said of him] was like 
the animal they call a chameleon, that takes the 
colour of everything ’tis next to, green among the 
leaves, but gray on the bare ground. 

To mark this spot, and find our clay-quarry again, 
we bade Samuel climb a high tree of the fir kind, just 
over against it, with the saw that Pounder had made 


236 


TH* ADTBNTURBS OF OWEN BVAN8, 


of the shark’s teeth j and notch the rind with such a 
mark as could be seen from below. When the young 
Indian made out our wdsh, up he w’^ent, as spruce as 
any monkey : and before five minutes he had cut a 
cross deep into the bark of the tree, on the side look- 
ing towards Shark’s Cove. Then he came down 
again as nimbly and we went on our way. 

I could not but remark to the priest, ’twas strange 
how the young savage, who had not so much as 
heard of Christianity, should choose the sign of the 
cross to cut into the tree. But he smiled when I 
said it, and answered me : 

“ Nature, friend Owen, and Grace, both come from 
the same Lord : is it any wonder, then, that even 
nature sometimes witnesses to the things of Grace ? 
The Arabs, as I have heard, at the sandy desert, 
mark their camels with the same precious sign, either 
to know them among others, or as a sort of charm. 
Not that they believe in the Cross [poor souls !] or in 
Him who died on it : but, I suppose, because ’tis the 
most natural sign, and comes first to hand, as you 
may see yourself, if you try. Children in their 
games, when one has to make a sign against the 
other, choose a cross and a round o, because these are 
the easiest made. Some of the most beautiful flowers 
are cruciform : and they say, no plant whose flower 
takes this shape is ever poisonous. So it is, that our 
loving Lord speaks to those who will listen to Him, 
and prepares (in some degree) the minds of those He 
has never spoken to. But this would lead us too far, 
to follow it up.” 

Not too far for for me, Sir,” said I ; for this man’s 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOS. 


287 


lightest sayings seemed to wake up unusual thoughts 
in my mind : “ pray go on, if it doth not weary you. 
You are so used, and I so little used, to ponder these 
things, it must seem to you like teaching a school-boy 
his A, B, C.” 

“Well, then,” pursued he, “many of our early 
Church writers, or Fathers, while she was persecuted 
in her infancy, as well as after, remark as follows : 
that in the natural forms of things, you often may 
see the sign of the cross where there is struggle, 
contention, motion, et catera , not so much in things 
that denote peace. In the square-yard of a ship 
placed cross-ways against the mast ; the outspread 
wings of a bird beating against the air ; the arms of 
one who is violently running or struggling; the cross- 
hilt of a sword ; a cross-bow, and the like. Mind, I 
do not affirm how much there may be in this remark, 
but ’t is, at least, a beautiful idea : and one that would 
come home to them, who were called on to bear the 
cross from day to day, and sometimes crucified, to 
the very letter, even as their Lord.” 

So he went on, with more than I can recall, about 
virtue lying in the carrying the cross, in continual 
strife and resistance against enemies, within and 
without ; that we all profess to be soldiers of the 
cross, and must not desert from our standard ; that 
if the cross weie thus impressed on mere nature [as 
Poula-faihe had just shown, when he least thought 
on it] ’t was, far more, the very foundation of all 
things in Grace ; the sign of that redemption without 
which we had all of us remained hopeless slaves of 
the devil, and the heirs of hell : again, how reason- 


238 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

ably the Catholic Church taught her children often 
to make the sign of the cross, to keep these things 
(one and all) ever before their eyes and hearts. 
Then, as I asked him to do, he showed me the way 
Catholics had of making this sign, and repeated to 
me, in Latin, the words wherewith they accompanied 
it: in nothing of which I could perceive the least 
departure from what was lawful and reasonable. 

Such discourse was broken in upon by our discov- 
ering, when we had traced the stream a little way 
up, this was the very same that flowed from the 
southern declivity of Prospect Hill. For there was 
the hill itself (as I may say) leaning on our right 
shoulders ; but we chose to give it the name of 
River-head now instead, and drank of the fresh 
water again, to the success of our expedition, “ And 
who knows,” quoth Hilton, “but River-head may 
one day becom a famous place in history?” “I 
warrant,” says Hon Manuel, “ ’t will have more 
harmless fame than many a celebrated spot, where 
men have cut their brothers’ throats by wholesale, 
betrayed a town, or proved themselves villains on a 
large scale.” 

So, going still forward, we had scarce got two 
miles on when Pounder called out, pointing to some- 
thing that grew in another swampy piece of ground 
to our left. From the look of the plant, though the 
pods were not yet burst, I knew it for the cotton- 
plant, and bade the Indian sro and gather us some. 
He brought us a good handful, which Don Manuel 
and I examined ; but we were not so greatly rejoiced 
at this as at our former pieces of good -luck, seeing 


TH* OATIIOLIO ORUSOi. 


239 


the difficulty of weaving this cotton into any cloth 
for ourselves. At last I said : “ ’T is true, we cannot 
weave, for we have no means to come by a loom, nor 
skill to make one : hut we can learn to knit, I suppose, 
and that will answer us as well.” 

At this, the men all hurst into laughter ; they asked, 
when were we to begin this old-wdfe’s trade, and sit 
at our doors knittmg, with spectacles on our noses ? 
Then Gill, like a luckless Harry as he was, turned 
round on old Prodgers, and tells him, he would 
make a famous grandmother at that sort of work. I 
know not what Richard might have said or done ; 
nor how far his new-found gentleness had stood 
proof against this sudden thrust of the reckless 
fellow : hut Don Manuel at that moment laid his arm 
gently over Prodger’s shoulder, and called out good- 
humoredly : “ I mean to begin at it ! see, if I don’t 
take out a patent for the first pair of stockings !” 

There’s many a true word spoken in jest, says the 
proverb : so, thinking it over, I made my mind up to 
see if we could turn our spare time to account in this 
way of cotton-knitting : in truth, our clothes even now 
were not of the best ; and if our exile was prolonged 
as there looked every prospect of it, that trade 
might become, not a comfort, but sheer necessity. 

But now we journeyed on ; though partly mistaking 
our way, we bore up somewhat too much to north- 
ward ; yet, when we felt ourselves getting on the 
slope of the volcano, we struck west again, and after 
a while came upon the head of that little glen 
through which the stream came down that we had 
placed our jars in. We were overcome with eager- 


240 TH« ADT1NTURK8 OF OWEN BTANS, 

ness to see whether these were left to us, among our 
small possessions ; so we made a headlong rush for 
it, ai d one or two of us fell into the brook over the 
slippery roots of trees : till we got into that mossy 
lane we had travelled up before; and found (as 
indeed I more than suspected,) the fellows who 
landed us had no more charity than we gave them 
credit for; for one of the jars was clean gone, and 
the other lying beside the bed of the stream, broken 
into pieces ; but whether out of sheer malice, or by 
some accident, is more than I can say. 

We uttered some exclamations of disappointment, 
’tis not to be doubted ; but I heard not a single cu^'se 
among all our number. Should this appear to any 
as a small matter, or not one to lay great stress on, 
to me, on the other hand, who knew the way of sea- 
men, and how glibly an oath slips from the lips of 
men that have given themselves to uttering them, it 
seemed next door to a miracle, to find how much had 
been done in the line of good within five short days. 

“ True,” says the priest : for T seldom had a 
thought now without imparting it to him ; “ it only 
shows that every one can keep from sin. with the 
help of God, where he is resolute to watch over him- 
self. I whl tell you what chanced once in Spain, o« 
this subj(}ct of swearing, to prove what I say ” 


Tl!.« CATHOLIC CRUSOl. 


241 


CHAPTER XLL 

THE swearer’s BUTTON. 

“My story,” says he, “is this : in the town of 
Espinosa, in the province of Toledo, there was an 
officer, quartered with his regiment ; he was a good 
sort of man, and in the main, possessed with the fear 
of God. But, from liviug in camps with bad example 
around him, having also to deal with men under his 
command on whom soft words seemed utterly wasted, 
he had contracted a vile habit of profane swearing ; 
and this came out on every occasion that roused him 
to impatience, or anger. That much, with the remain- 
der of the story, I heard him relate afterwards at the 
table of the bishop of Cuidad Real. It seems he 
made some efforts to overcome this evil habit of his ; 
but all to no purpose. At length, the beginning of 
one Lent, he applied to a Jeronymite monk, of the 
convent in Espinosa, to explain his case. The 
father asked him, was he in earnest ? did he truly 
wish to unlearn his swearing habits ? The captain 
professed himself, that he did indeed desire it. Then, 
says the other, will yon punctually follow the advice 
I am about to give you ? Then captain says, again, 
there was nothing he would not do to correct himself; 
and so gave his promise as a man of honour. ‘ Well, 
then,’ says the good monk, smiling, ‘ I will hold you 
to it, hijo mio : and what you shall do is this : The 
very next time an oath slips from your lips (remem- 
ber, you have promised me) draw your sword, and 


242 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

cut off the top button from your uniform coat : and 
so on, a button for every oath after that.’ 

“ A bargain is a bargain, among men of honour ; 
as this officer had promised, he held himself bound 
to perform. But he felt much confused, even before- 
hand, at the bare thought of appearing in his uniform 
with a button less ; and determined by all means to 
avoid the disgrace. Well, he left the monastery, 
and went back to his quarters, full of good intentions; 
scarcely had he set his foot within the barrack-gates, 
when something went wrong, and one of his men 
gave him cause of offence. Out came a thundering 
big oath, according to custom ; and, when he be- 
thought himself, there was the old evil done again. 
How should he act now ? Being a man of his word, 
cost him what it might, he draws his sword, and cuts 
off the top button, just under his chin. Though, I 
dare say, none of his fellow-officers noticed it, yet he 
thought every eye was on the place where the button 
should have been ; and went about all day in a 
sheepish kind of way, feeling something was amiss 
with him altogether.” 

‘‘ Now,” continued the priest, turning to me, “ how 
many buttons, think you, did he lose, owing to that 
promise of his?” 

“ Truly,” said I, “ ’tis to be feared, he was left at 
length without so many as would hold his coat 
together.” 

“ On the contrary,” says he again, smiling, “ he 
never had to cut off a second ; and the careful guard 
he kept on himself, lest he should lose the next button, 
grew into a habit, that cured him of his swearing.” 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOl. 


243 


1 was much struck with that story, I own ; and 
needed not that the priest should enforce its moral on 
me : he, for his part, did not add another word. 

Nor do I find any particular thing to record in 
the after part of this day, nor indeed in the next, 
which was Saturday. Don Manuel led us to the 
place where he had observed the oysters ; which we 
found in abundance, and of a prodigious size : 
whether I am to call them oysters, or cockles rather, 
they furnished us with more food than we desired. * 
As if, too, we were to be rewarded for our obedience 
to the precept, now first announced of eating no meat 
on this day, I must note that, even as the people of 
Israel, turning from the flesh-pots of Egypt, were 
sustained in the wilderness by manna from Heaven, 
so now, besides our oysters, that were (as our priest 
had said before) both “ fish and dish,” we discovered, 
in another creek somewhat to the south of these rocks, 
such a colony of fine cray-fish, as made us have no- 
thing more to say to shark on Fridays. 

Indeed, as far as fish went, I concluded we had 
settled on the worser side of this island. But we 
had taken a fancy, or whim (whichever I may call 

♦ For the size to which shell-fish grow in the tropics, see 
Cook’s Voyage round the World : “ At four o’clock in the 

afiernoon the boats returned with two hundred and forty 
pounds of the meat of shell-fish, chiefly of cockles, some of 
which were as much as two men could move, and contained 
twenty pounds of good meat.” Friday, 17th August, 1770. 

As to the sea “cra-fish,” or lobsters, Anson (or his biographer) 
assures us that on the island of Juan Fernandez, “ they gen- 
erally weighed eight or nine pounds apiece, were of a most ex- 
cellent taste, and lay in such abundance near the water’s edge, 
that the boat-hooks often struck into them, in putting the 
boat to and from the shore.”— Anson’s Voyage l^ndlM 
W<yrld, p. 177, ed. 1748. Ed. 


244 THE ADVENTURES OE OWEN EVAKS, 

it,) in favour of our cave, and determined to stick tc 
it: as men have stuck to things less reasonable, just 
because they willed, and only so. Stewing our cockles 
and cray-fish in their own shells, and dining ex- 
cellently well, we then loaded the Indians with some 
of each sort, to establish a fish-pond, or preserve, 
in Shark Cove ; and set our faces homewards. But 
having ill secured the claws of the cray-fish, one of 
the larger of them getting loose, gave Samuel a 
shrewd nip on the shoulder, as he was carrying him. 
The poor fellow started off like a fury, yelling louder 
than any madman with the pain : he rushed through 
the wood, and the rest after him ; shaking himself in 
vain, to be free of his tormentor, then rolled on the 
ground, and roared till the echoes rung again. Poun- 
der now proved his title to the name he bore, and 
finished the enemy by hammering at him with stones. 
But Samuel was under my hands for three days after, 
for the creature’s bite was no joking matter, believe 
me. 

Saturday was a day of hard work at our cave, with 
nothing more to chronicle. We took turn-and-tum 
about, and made progress ; working on a regular 
plan : and for dinner w^e had a young peccary that 
we had met (to his grief) in the woods the day be- 
fore ; for we killed him, at least, on Friday, without 
"emorse or scruple. 


THS OATHOLIO GRUSOS. 


245 


CHAPTER XLIL 

A GERM OF THE FUTURE. 

NExt day was Sunday, thirtieth of August, 1739 
being the first Sunday we had spent in this exile 
and so Don Manuel reminded us, while we sat to 
breakfast under a spreading tree. 

‘‘ And we mav see, friends” (says he,) how wise, 
how loving, is the commandment to keep one day in 
seven as a day of rest : not only to refresh our weari- 
ed bodies from toil, but to raise our minds to that 
heaven where we hope to be one day, and for ever ; 
remembering, we are on earth but for a short while, 
at most.” 

“ ’Twill seem a long while, though,” says Gill» 
rather down-cast, “ if this kind of life goes on, upon 
a desolate island. I don’t know, but, for my part, I’d 
as lief be in a tight, well-trimmed craft, with a smart 
crew, and sixty guns, or so, upon a cruise after some 
of them Spanish galleons, under favour. Sir,” says 
he, touching his hat to Don Mnnuel, “ with sharp 
look out after my share of prize-money, than” — 

“ Than in heaven, do you mean ?” asked the Don, 
quietly. 

“ Well,” pursued Harry, shaking his head, “ I sup- 
pose I ought to say no such a thing ; but I can’t help 
feeling, all the same, that heaven, d’ye see, a place 
I’ve no acquaintance with ; whereas, a seafaiing life, 
with its ways of going on, in ship’s companies, calms 
and breezes, dog-watches and idle times, and ups 


246 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

and downs, like, is what I have used, and so under* 
stand ’em.” 

At this, the priest smiled a little, but not much, 
seeming as if he only would not look too grave at 
what Gill said. Ned Hilton chimed in with much 
the same ; he declared, for his part, sometimes he 
had as soon be in the Old Bailey, or any other jail, 
as on this island. 

“ Nay, mess-mate,” cried Harvey, breaking in 
here, “ ’tis not for me, of all men, to turn preacher : 
but we would be unthankful dogs, not to compare 
our state with what it might have been : had we 
been clapped under hatches by old Hopkins, now, how 
had that suited us, I wonder ?” 

“ Or left to the tender mercies of the first mate ?” 
Prodgers added. 

“ And,” said the priest, “ when you speak of pri- 
sons, never forget, there are prisons more dreadful, 
more hopeless, than mortal eye hath ever seen. You 
tell me, dear friend (or some of you) you had rather 
be on earth than in heaven : what think ye, then, of 

hell r 

With that, he settled the question; leastways, 
no one seemed disposed to answer ; and now, hav- 
ing an idle day before us, we began to straggle 
about under the trees ; and the men, from sheer want 
of something to do, were for throwing stones at a 
mark, or jumping height and distance, getting up a 
wrestling match, or ahything else, to kill time. I 
foresaw, some untoward thing might come of this 
idleness ; for our quarrelsome passions were, as yet, 
only like the candle that is newly blown out, smok- 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


247 


ing still, and easy to be kindled again. I whispered 
this to Don Manuel, who whispered back to me, he 
had his own fears about it, and something must be 
invented to occupy them. At the same time, he 
asked to borrow my clasp-knife, to show them, he 
said, a game played by the country folks in Spain, 
with four sticks laid across. 

When he took the knife, I saw him look curiously 
at it, as being in make and fashion different from 
what are used in Spain : suddenly, he cries out with 
joy and wonder, so that we were startled in a literal 
sense, and came crowding round him. He remained, 
without noticing us, looking earnestly on the knife, 
which he had not opened ; he spoke a little to him- 
self, then grew silent, as if he pondered something 
deeply, but never takes his eyes off the knife the 
whole time. All of us were amazed; as we looked at 
him we grew afraid : for I believe, the rest thought 
as I did, he might be losing his head. Perhaps, said 
I to myself, with much alarm for him, this injustice 
we have suffered together, that roused our angry 
passions for a time, has gone deeper into this man’s 
soul, being of a graver and a more reflective turn ; it 
hath lain working there unseen, till it comes out at 
last in this strange, unheard-of way. 

Soon he recovered himself, shook his head once or 
twice, then fetched a deep sigh, and thinking aloud, 
he says, “ I fear me ’tis not possible.” With that he 
opens the clasp-knife carefully, and shakes something 
out of it into the palm of his hand : then reaching his 
hand to nca, showed me what lay on it, and said, with 


248 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

gravity and a touch of sorrow : “ Look, here is s 
grain of wheat.” 

I found it was so, on examining it : one single 
grain, and a good sound one, that had stuck in the 
knife between the hasp and the blade ; and now I re- 
membered I had thrust a handful of it into my pocket 
from the corn-bin on board ship, like an idler as I 
was, and thought I had ate it all. No occasion had 
made me open my knife since we came ashore ; for 
’twas too good a one to employ on the shark or the 
oysters : and the bamboos would have broken it out- 
right. So, by a strange providence indeed, this one 
grain, that might lay the foundation of an entire har- 
vest, and feed our whole population, turned up at 
this odd moment, and was the best discovery we had 
made hitherto, by far. 

But I could not account, neither, for the sadness 
which Don Manuel showed after being the instru- 
ment of this good to us. Indeed, putting all to- 
gether, there was something so out of the way in his 
conduct we were not yet assured he was right in his 
mind. He had before told us what made him sorry 
to find no savages on our arrival whom he might con- 
vert : but we quite feared to ask him anything about 
the present case, dreading to confirm our dark thoughts 
of his understanding being gone. For by this time, 
though not of the same religion, we had learned to 
think and feel about him as a father, a guide, and a 
friend. 

He soon relieved us, however ; for, fetching another 
sigh from the very depth of his bosom : “ Friends,” 
says he, with a sad smile, shaking his head, “ I have 


THS OATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


249 


D©en dreaming of other times and employments ; this 
little grain of wheat has made me do it.” 

We looked at him, and looked at one another; 
still the same idea running in our minds. Then I 
ventured to say, watching his countenance narrowly ; 

“ Dreaming of what, Sir, may I ask?” 

“ Of Mass ” answered he, and looked up again to 
heaven. 

“ Yes,” he went on after a little, “I was thinking 
whether it would be possible to celebrate that august 
sacrifice which we have in the Catholic religion, even 
here, on this desolate island. Most of the essential 
things, I have felt all along, were lacking and could 
not be had ; when suddenly I come upon one of 
them, and that is wheaten corn. Still, where are the 
others ?” and again he shook his head, and became 
silent. 

“ And what are they. Sir ?” asked Tom Harvey. 

“ Several, friend,” answered he, “ but chiefly, the 
fruit of the vine, and a consecrated altar-stone. 
Come, come,” he added more cheerfully again, like 
himself, “ if we cannot have the reality of that great 
blessing, why not unite ourselves in spirit with those 
who have ? Listen to what I mean.” 


250 


THE ADTENIURBS Of OWEN ETANt, 


CHAPTER XLIII. 

“ iriMBLE THOUGHT CAN LEAP BOTH SEA AND LAND.** 

He drew his cl ole round him, and became so ear- 
nest in voice and look, there was no need now to bid 
us attend. “ This very day,” says he, “ many mill- 
ions of Christians, spread over the face of the globe, 
of every clime, colour, language, race, are kneeling 
before such an altar as I vainly wish for, hearing 
Mass said by one of God’s anointed priests. They 
come, because the Church inviting them at other 
times, commands them to come on Sundays and some 
days beside. But the more earnest among them 
come also because they love that thrice-holy Sacri- 
fice, and feel they need its benefits, and have special 
intentions to bring to it. I say, this day ; but I say 
not, at this hour alone : for all day long, from early 
dawn to night. Mass is somewhere being said : when 
’tis early in one part of the Church, ’tis late in an- 
other ; and she is truly that world- wide empire on 
which the sun never sets. That voice of prayer, and 
still more, that act of Sacrifice, girdles the earth 
round ; since the habitable globe itself is the appoint- 
ed dwelling of the universal family, ‘ the household 
of faith and the dawn, as it run swiftly westward, 
awakens freshly that consent of hearts, that union 
of intentions, that one, great Catholic act of obedL 
en(5e and love. So is fulfilled, Sunday by Sunday, day 
by day, a prophecy of Malachias, the last of the 
prophets, in which holy Mass was foretold, as cleaiiy 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


251 


as if the seer had beheld the priest at the altar with 
his bodily eyes ; yet four hundred years before our 
Lord first celebrated it in Jerusalm the night He was 
betrayed. I will try to put the words into my 
poor English, and they would run somewhat as this ; 
‘ From the sunrise to the sunset, My name is great 
among the nations : and sacrifice is going on in every 
place, and a pure oblation is offered in My name : 
for great is My name among the nations, saith the 
Lord of hosts.’* 

“IsTow, dear friends,” added he, after a while, 
“ shall we not join them? shall we refuse to unite our 
intentions to theirs ?” 

“ How can we join them,” asks Prodgers, object- 
ing still, but not like the Prodgers of a week since ; 
rather puzzled than objecting, after all: “how can 
we do that, Sir, when we don’t see ’em, and per- 
chance are a thousand miles away from ’em ?” 

“We can join them in intention^’' says the priest, 
“ though not seeing them.” 

“ Does not your perspective,” and he turned to 
me, “ bring close to you, as it were, things that are 
clean out of sight of your unaided eye ? Or the cap- 
tain’s speaking trumpet, does n’t it make the sailors 
in the main-top hear him above the howl of a tem- 
nest, quite beyond his natural pitch ? And will not 
“aiih carry our souls one degree further than the per- 
spective carries the sight, or the trumpet carries the 
sound? ‘We walk by faith,’ religion teaches us, 

* Malach., i. 11. Don Manuel quotes the prophet with toler- 
able accuracy from the Vulgate, and even renders sacriJUatur 
perhaps, more literally than the Douay version.—En. 


252 TUB ALYBNTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

‘ not by sight.’ If a dear friend of mine were in th« 
next room to me, and a thin partition between us ; 
while I heard his voiced would my regard for him 
be cooled or lessened because I did not actually see 
him ? Or, if I ceased to hear his voice, yet if 1 knew he 
was there, should I regard him less for neither seeing 
nor hearing him ? If I heard him praying in his room 
would not my heart unite itself with his prayer ? 
If I could not hear him pray, but knew he prayed 
at that moment, might I not join my prayers, my in- 
tention^ with his ? If I were blind, and in the same 
room with, him, could I not pray with him just as 
well ? What is there in the mere want of sight to hin- 
der all this ?” 

He stopped, looking round on us : I am sure, he 
read in our faces, we listened ; yet no one spoke. 

“ If, now,” he went on, “ from our Cape-Look-Out ” 
(so we had named the promontory over our cave,) 
“ or from yon volcano, Senor Owen, we saw a ves- 
sel in distress, though leagues away on the wide sea ; 
would not you, with your seaman’s eyes, know at 
a glance what was doing, and what was amiss; 
would not you, wdth your hearts of men used 
to danger, have a fellow-feeling with the sufferings 
of the crew? Say that the veseel, amid all that 
peril, sheers out of sight ; you would not cease to 
think of them, nor cease (now that you have learned to 
pray) to pray with them, because you saw them not ? 
Well, then, we may assist at Mass, with intelligence, 
and offer a ‘ reasonable service,’ in some vast cathe- 
dral, too far from the priest to catch an accent of hii 
voice : and we may join, with true devotion, in th« 


TH* OATHOLIO ORUSOH. 


25S 


intentions of a Mass that is celebrated a thousand 
leagues from the spot were we kneel.” 

As he paused again, there was something so new 
to me in all this, I found neither words to answer, 
nor objections to propose to him. But I said : 

“ Once, Sir, in Buenos Ayres, as I strolled about the 
town on some holiday or other, I turned in idly 
to see the cathedral, following a whole posse of peo- 
ple who were flocking in from every side. Mass was 
going on, I believe ; at least something at the altar, 
which I could not see nor understand, being such a 
distance ofi*. At first, I own I thought it all mum- 
mery ; the priests (there were three of them, and some 
attendants,) none of them took any notice of the 
people ; and there was bowing and burning incense, 
with movements from side to side. I never saw 
anything half so strange ; there was nothing of com- 
mon prayer about it, like a minister getting into a 
desk to say, ‘ Dearly beloved, the Scripture moveth 
us,’ or whatever ’tis they say. But I must own, as 
it went on, a something came over me, like nothing 
else I ever felt : whether the behaviour of the people 
[at least some of them, for others were careless, look- 
ing about them, almost as we did in Wales,] whether 
’twas their devotion impressed me, or what, I cannot 
say : but when a little bell rang, and there was a 
hush all through the place, so that you might hear a 
pin drop, and the most careless and fidgetty went 
down on their knees, bowing their heads, and beating 
their breasts, — at that moment, I knew not why, nor 
know to this day — the words came rushing into my 
mind [and where they came from, I know not well,] 


254 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

‘ Put off thy shoes from thy feet ; for the place 
whereon thou standest is holy ground and I found 
myself on my knees with the rest, calling on God 
earnestly, then did mine eyes wet with tears. Yet 
there was no moving music, nor fine discourse, at the 
moment : nothing but silence, dead silence, broken 
by a little bell. What was it spoke to me thus, I 
wonder ?” 

“ ’Twas the presence of God,” said the priest, with 
reverence : “God was really present on that altar, 
yet you saw Him not ; as truly as He was, even then, 
enthroned in the heaven of heavens; and from that 
altar He addressed you, yet you heard not His 
voice. He who created you, spoke to your understand- 
ing. He bade you reason and think, a Christian 
assembly, some of them with no small degree of 
education and intelligence, representing a greater 
multitude then ^live all over the globe, and more 
again, extended through seventeen hundred years, 
were not likely to have met, Sunday by Sunday, to 
witness a mere act of mummery, and listen to a lit- 
tle bell. He bade you suppose, there must be some- 
thing beyond all this ; something you could not see, 
nor that multitude either ; but which they knew and 
believed, while you did not. More than this : He 
who redeemed you with His precious blood appealed 
to you from that altar; He whispered to your heart, 
that He was there Himself. And you responded; 
not by faith, for that had been a miracle, and your 
conversion sudden, like Saul’s on the road to Damas- 
cus — but by an emotion of the soul that prepared 
the way for faith, and signified its first dim awaken- 
ing. And when was all this, Senor Owen ?” 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


255 


“ N ay, sir,” said I, “ ’t is three years since, at the 
least.” 

The priest lifted up his eyes, and said words (in 
Latin) which I now know to mean ; 

“ As yet, the vision is far off ; and it shall appear 
at the end, and shall not lie: if it make any delay, 
wait for it : for it shall surely come, and it shall not 
be slack.”* 

“ But what,” I pursued, and the others seemed to 
ask the same by their looks and manner, “ what, 
after all, is Mass, that I was present at then ?” 

“ I promise you all, friends,” says he, looking 
round on us kindly, “ to answer that question in full, 
the next time you ask it. For the present we have 
spoken enough, and I fear to weary you. ’T is now 
almost time to think of preparing a dinner for our 
oven : then we can leave it baking, and talk again ; 
and I propose a quiet walk, after. But, as ’t is Sun- 
day, and our minds are turned on such important 
subjects as we spoke of a while ago, are you disposed 
to Usten, if I can scrape English enough together to 
give you a li itle Sunday sermon ?” 

The men all voted ’t would he a treat for them ; so 
much had they began to respect and love him already, 
that every word he spoke was winged the deeper in- 
to their hearts by what they saw his conduct to be. 
So, after some quiet amusement, followed by dinner, 
he took us aside to where there was a shady bank of 
turf to sit on, and a little platform of rock: and 
getting on it, he said a few prayers with us, wherein 
we joined heartily; then delivered himself much ai 
follows : 


* Habaeuef il 8. Ed. 


256 


THB ADYSNTUBBS OF OWEN ETANB, 


CHAPTER XLIV. 

DON Manuel’s sermon. 

“ I KNOW not,” he began, “dear friends and brother*, 
how the words of my text run in any English version ; 
so I must give them to you from our Latin Bible * 
and they are thus : — Qua videntur^ temporalia sunt: 
qua autem non videntur^ ester na sunt.^ That means, 
plainly, that all we now see round us, above us, 
below us, all our eyes rest on, near or far off, will 
only last for a time : these things have their day, 
though it be a long one. Then they will have their 
end ; they will pass away. But there are other thingsj 
that we do not see yet : we shall see them soon ; we 
shall find ourselves amidst them ; and they will never 
pass away ; never ! they have no day, but the endless 
day of eternity. So, ‘ the things that are seen, are 
for a time : but those which are not seen, are for 
ever.’ 

“Yes,” he went on, “time is to-day, and the 
things of time ; the trials, and the griefs, the tempt- 
ations, duties, opportunities, and graces, of time. 
They are all with us to-day. To-morrow comes eter- 
nity, and the things of eternity ; the rewards, aye or 
the punishments of eternity. Time ! Eternity ! the 
Now, and the Then ! the passing, the enduring ! the 
shadow, the substance ! the labour, the reward 1 or 
the sin, and the punishment ! 

•[“ The things which are seen, arc temporal : but the thing* 
which are not sees, are eternal.”— II Ccr . iv. 18 .— Ed. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUriOB. 


267 


‘‘There are only three points, dear brothers, I 
would have you fix your thoughts on ; and I will be 
as short upon them as I can. Listen ; they are 
these: 

“We are placed in time, to prepare for eternity; 

“We are only placed in time once, once for all : 

“ Our eternity depends on our use of time. 

“First : We are placed here, to gain a happy eter- 
nity by our conduct here. Here, I mean in life; 
though I might also say, here in solitude and quiet, 
removed from many dangerous temptations, with 
abundant leisure to cultivate our souls. Why, but 
because our loving Father, who knows our weakness, 
hath placed us here, that He may the sooner and the 
surer take us to Himself? But, whether here or else- 
where, we and all other men, even our poor savage 
friends that have been sent to us, are all in life, that 
we may thereby inherit life eternal. How, do you 
ask? By obeying the commands of God, keeping 
from sin, corresponding with grace, increasing it, and 
BO growing, like to Himself. And by what power ? 
Surely, by no strength of our own, but by His grace. 
And what grace ? Ah ! that is a subject for another 
time ; one on which I should have much to say, and 
you have something still to learn. 

“ Well, then, if life is the time given us to prepare 
for eternity, is it an important time? Nay; who 
shall tell how important, how valuable ? Ask a man 
of covetous soul, whose afiections are centred on 
scraping money together, what he would do, if one 
hour, just one hour, were given him to spend in a 
rich gold mine. If he is honest in his answer, ha 


868 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

will tell you plainly, he would spend that hour with 
diligence, anxiously, to the very last minute, hus- 
banding every scrap of time, to get as much gold 
out of the mine as he could. He would work while 
his time lasted ; he would do the utmost he was 
able; and he would be sony when the last moment 
was come. 

“ But all this very feebly sets forth the value of 
our time; very, very feebly indeed. No gold or 
precious metals, nor anything that bears the highest 
^rice on earth, can be weighed in the same balance 
with time, that can gain for us a brighter crown, a 
nearer place to God’s throne, and so a fuller measure 
of bliss, for ever and ever. 

“No, I assert it, my friends, you must be able to 
measure the distance from earth to heaven, you must 
weigh that which comes to an end against what en- 
dures for ever, * the things that are seen, and tem- 
poral,’ against ‘ the things that are not seen, and 
eternal,’ before you can prize at its true worth, any 
hour of any day of that time in which we are placed, 
to prepare for eternity. 

Eternity ! but eternity has no measure, except 
only itself. Eternity is not a number of hundreds 
of thousands of years, nor any possible number of 
them multiplied into itself ; nor the ages of millions 
of worlds multiplied into themselves. In this way 
of calculation, you may get to conceive a sum so 
vast, that your mind cannot really grasp it ; no, not 
for a moment. But that is not eternity. That is 
time, though a vast sum of time ; only time, after 
all. If an insect crept one inch in fifty thousand 


THE CATHOLIC CRTJSOB. 


259 


years, till it travelled from here to the sun ; that is 
not eternity ; ’tis only time. Eternity is like nothing 
but only itself. For ever ! that has nothing to do 
with time. Yes : but time has one thing to do with 
t ; ’tis given us to prepare for it. 

“ Then, secondly : all this would be true, had we 
several lives to live, one after another ; could we 
come back again from death, to repair the error of a 
mis-spent life. Even then, how valuable would each 
life be, as it was given in turn ! For it would be 
an opportunity of making up lost ground, and saving 
the soul in one life, that had not been saved in a 
former. But no such opportunity is given. Once 
and once only, and once for all, we are placed, in 
time. Once, only once, once for all, we can prepare 
for eternity. Once, only once, once for all, I say 
ao“ain, we are able to save our souls. When this 
one life is once over, no second time of trial, no day 
of grace, comes after. As we die, so we are judged ; 
when we die, then we are judged. If we die in 
grace, in the favour of God, we are safe for ever : if 
we die out of His grace, we are lost, and lost for 
ever. In the one case, we are safe, without fear of 
being lost ; in the other we are lost, without hope of 
being saved. The sacred Scriptures express this 
truth in a striking way : ‘ If the tree fall to the souths 

or to the norths in what place soever it shall fall there 
shall it bel* 

“ Thus, dear brothers, had we been murdered on 
board ship, we had been taken away by the hand of 
death ; rather, conducted by the hands of our guard- 

*Eoel., xi.— E d. 


260 THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

ian angels, placed at once before our Judge. No 
more time for us then : none of those prayers, good 
thoughts, lessons of God’s love and providence, acts 
of repentance, we have experienced since. W e should 
then have known the worth of our souls, and of the 
time we had to save them in ; but we might have 
known all this too late. Had we died then, what 
state were our souls in ? how far prepared to meet 
our God, and be judged ? But why do I say then 
only ? No ; look back over your whole lives ; view 
them at a glance, as you will view them when the 
last moment is indeed come. At any moment of any 
day, you might have died a sudden death, as others 
have died before you, as others will after you. That 
very moment you would have been judged; sen- 
tenced for eternity : for there is a particular judg- 
ment awaiting each man at his death, as well as a 
general judgment for all mankind together. Once 
sentenced, there is no reversing, no mitigating, no 
recommendation to mercy, no appeal to another 
court, or to find trial. As we die, so we remain ; 
for ever ! for ever and ever ! for evermore, without 
end ! We are placed in time once ; and once for alL 
Are these things true, my dear brothers? Am 1 
making them out too strong, or drawing from fancy ? 
Nay, you know I am not. If they are true, what 
conclusion must we come to from them? How 
ought they to affect us ? What rules shall we lay 
down for ourselves because they are true ? 

“ In the third place, our eternity depends on our 
use of time ; that is, we have the power (by divine 
grace) to determine whether the eternal state we are 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


261 


hastening into, shall be happy or miserable; an 
eternity of pain. But what happiness and pleasure ? 
Or what misery and pain ? The greatest, either way, 
we can imagine or conceive. Is that all? No! far 
greater than we can imagine ; far greater than we can 
conceive : such as ‘eye hath not seen, not ear heard, 
nor hath it entered into the heart of man to con- 
ceive.’ And the choice lies with us : with ui t 
we are bidden to choose ; we cannot help choosing 
we choose every day, every hour we live : for every 
day, every hour, we take a step one way or the other. 
We step towards heaven, or we step towards hell ; 
one degree nearer to one or the other, every action 
we perform, every word we say, every thought we 
deliberately think. O my brothers ! ’tis an awful 
thing to step towards hell ; to take one foot-breadth, 
by one hair-breadth, away from God, towards the 
edge of the pit ! Can you dare to do it ? 

“ Even if you were sure how many steps, exactly, 
you could take that way, without falling down the 
sides of the pit ; yet what rebellion, what ingrati- 
tude, to take one step, one little step ! But you can- 
not measure this ; you cannot tell which step be the 
last, the irrevocable one ; nor how many steps ojT it 
is from you now, nor how sudden the slip may be. 

‘ He that despiseth little things, shall fall by little 
and by little.’ He who places himself, by his own 
act and deed, on the downward slope that leads to 
the pit of hell, has only himself to thank, if he slip 
on a sudden, and never regain his footing. 

“ But there is not only a hell to be avoided there 
is a heaven to be gained ! Hell ! Heaven I Eternity 


262 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

in hell ! Or eternity in heaven ! O my brothers I 
’twould be imposible for any souls to sin against 
God, that had once looked down in hell, once looked 
up in heaven. Souls fall into hell, and lose heaven, 
because they know nothing really of hell or of heaven 
nothing of eternity. Strictly speaking, they do not 
disbelieve those things ; they only live as if they had 
never heard of them. They live on, day by day, as 
if time were all, eternity nothing : then they come 
to die, some one day or other, and find (find too late !) 
time was nothing, eternity all! 

“ Ah, bring me back, if you can, one soul that has 
fallen down into the pit of hell; the soul that died 
yesterday ; the bad Catcholic who died in Spain, the 
poor dark misbeliever who died in England ! Bring 
back the soul that was condemned yesterday to an 
eternity of torment — to everlasting fire ! condemn- 
ed by a God, all-merciful, all-loving, but all-just, to 
that lake burning with sulphur, to that prison-house 
of pain, to that gnawftig worm, to those chains of 
darkness, to that company of devils, to their merci- 
less torments and insults ; above all, to that banish- 
ment from God, that shame and everlasting reproach, 
that despair, that self-accusation, that hated God, of 
goodness, of self, of all 1 Bring back that soul, that 
we may question it: ask it what it thinks now of 
time, of eternity. What would it give rum — now, 
when too late, too late for ever — how much would 
it give, at what price would it redeem, one little 
month, one week, one day, one hour, only to repent ? 
What for a chance, w’hat for a loop-hole, aye, but 
©lie ray of faintest hone? IIow would it despise 


TOE CATHOLIC CRUSOl. 


268 


wealth, honour, pleasure ! how would it make noth- 
ing of pains, mortifications, penances ! Anything, 
anything ! hut to set one foot out of hell ! All the 
wealth of tlie Indies, all the crowns and diadems of 
earth, all the priceless gems, mountains of gold 
heaped one on the other, any price yru may name 
or think of, would be absolutely nothing, for one 
little drop of water to cool that hell-parched tongue, 
that fire-pierced tongue ! — that God-blaspheming 
tongue I 

“ Or, could I call down but one of those happy 
souls who have entered into eternal bliss, who 
bask already in the countenance of God : the very 
least, the lowest, in the kingdom of heaven ; that one 
just withinside the golden gate ! Ask that soul now, 
what is the value it places on time past ? Does it 
regret one good action, done with denial of its own 
will, done with difficulty, toil, and pain ? is it sorry 
for time spent in fervent prayers ? for having over- 
come temptations, and been watchful over itself, and 
against the demons, its cruel foes ? Ah, no : it now 
blesses Almighty God continually for having placed 
it amid so many opportunities to gain merit for eter- 
nity. Each of those pains endured, those tempt- 
ations overcome, is now a jewel in its bright unfading 
crown. 

“ But, ask it again : What would you do, were you 
decreea to return for awhile to earth ? if you stDl 
had five, ten, twenty years to spend in this state of 
trial ? Oh ! I seem to hear the answer quite plain. 
‘ If I were sent back to earth,’ says that blessed 
ioul ; ‘if I were still on my trial, and could still gain 


264 


THE AD7EN TUBES OF OWEN ETANS, 


merit, I would labour, without pause, to reap in the 
largest harvest, to go before my God at the end of 
my time with my hands fullest. I would reckon 
myself to have done nothing, while I could yet do 
more. Even if I knew my salvation secure, I would 
labour, I would delight in it, to let each moment 
and each act have its merit. I would be as the bee 
in the garden w^hen ’twas near sunset, laborious on 
one thing alone, to be able to fly home, laden with 
honey back to the hive !’ 

“ And you, jilii hominum^ O sons of men, whose 
salvation is not secure, and who know it : usquequo 
gravi corde ? how long mean you to be so dull, so 
indolent, so heedless, in the great afiair of salvation ? 
Tit quid diligitis vanitatem ? Why are ye so in love 
with all, that is empty and unsatisfying, while you 
miss the true, the solid good ? Et qucBritis mend- 
adum ? And wherefore make you as though ye 
sought to persuade yourselves to a falsehood ? 

“For time, my friends, is a mere show and false- 
hood, when it comes under any aspect but as a 
preparation, a training, for eternity. ‘ What is your 
life ?’ asks the holy Apostle, ‘ It is a vapour which 
appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall van- 
ish away.’ What is your life ? asks again St. Bern- 
ard : ‘ Momentum, unde pendet aternitas.^ A mom ent, 
he answers ; but a moment on which eternity de- 
pends. Yes, I say again ; time, eternity ! time is 
nothing : eternity is all Qtwd atemum non est, 
nihil est. That which is not eternal, and has no in- 
fluence on our eternity, is nothing. But our eternity 
depends on our use of this moment of time Depends 


tHR CATHOLIC CRUSOE, 


266 


do we understand that ? According to our use of 
minutes, which make up days, which make up years, 
you and I will be in heaven or in hell, when days and 
years and ages are no more ; when there is nothing 
but one long, changeless eternity, without division 
of time, or end, or death or nothingness ; only eter- 
nity, and yet again eternity, and eternity, and eter- 
nity ; in the fulness of bliss or the extremity of tort- 
ure and despair, as long as truth is truth, and good- 
ness is goodness, and evil is evil, and the soul is the 
soul, and God is God I 

“ JJsquequo gravi corde ? Let us awake, dear 
brothers ; let us begin really to use our knowledge 
of these great and tremendous truths ; let us live, 
and not dream life away. We are here on a 
desolate island ; but we have duties even here : duties 
to God, to one another and to ourselves. Let us 
work, watch, pray, repent, cultivate all the virtues 
within our reach, and ask for more ? Live as those 
who may die any moment ; who must die some 
moment : who know not when. Live as they who 
are daily preparing to be judged for the whole of 
their time. Then I promise you (all other things 
supposed, of which I will speak hereafter,) I promise 
sn the name of my Master, a holy life and a happy 
one, a blessed death, a favourable judgment, and 
heavenly joys for ever.” 


THB ADVENTURES OV OWEN EVANI, 


CHAPTER XLV. 

THE AECHEEY CLUB. 

1 HAVE thus (within a little) concluded the history 
of our first week on the island ; and, because ’t were 
tedious to my readers more than to myself, to go 
through with like details, I shall be content with a 
summary of what befell us thenceforward. We be 
gan to portion out our time like a company of phil- 
csophers, or statesmen ; so much to work, so much 
to amusement, so much, again, to ranging the island, 
which partook of both ; ’t was work in the way ol 
providing us food, and brought us acquainted with 
every lurking nook of our domain ; but ’t was recre- 
ation, too, for the variety of objects and places we 
came across, with a number of little adventures, and 
dangers now and then, on a small scale. 

A serious thought, however, began to engage us ; 
I mean, the wasting of our powder and shot, of which 
w« had no more than perhaps twenty rounds left in 
all. ’T was a dismal prospect for us, who had only 
been a week on the island : and what to do when 
that small stock was spent, or how to hinder the 
spending of it, I knew not ; unless we found means 
to snare the wild creatures for food, or betook our- 
selves to bows and an’ows, in which we had no 
skill 

In this, another consideration perpelxed me ; for 
what, said I to myself, if you teach the Indians the 
nse of this archeiy ? or, if they know such weapons 


THR CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


267 


•Iready (as ’tis likely), what if you p^t them into 
their hands? how can you be secure they will not 
turn them against yourselves ? Now came back the 
old fears of these savages escaping into the woods, 
to run wild there, and lie in ambush for us, to harrass 
us, and so hunt us down at last. 

When I stated these thoughts to my companions, 
’t was agreed not to allow the Indians any use of 
bows or arrows for the time ; and to keep a close 
watch oil them, to hinder their contriving that or any 
other weapon of offence. Not, I must say, that we 
had seen in them so much as a sign of independence 
or conspiracy, since they were thrown among us ; 
but he that is on the safe side is secure, as Prodgers 
remarked, when we debated on it. 

However, not to deprive them of all means to 
knock over some food for our common use, I made a 
trial of what they could do with mere stone-throw- 
ing : and calling them to me on the shore, at a place 
where the reef was parted by an inlet, and so the 
breach of the sea had freer access to wear the peb- 
bles smooth, I set up a bread-fruit for them by way 
of mark, on the point of a rock, perhaps seventy yards 
from where they stood : telling them by signs and 
words alike (for they now understood us better) I 
desired to see who could knock it over first. To it 
they went, with a good will ; and proved themselves 
skillful marksmen, too, considering the distance. 
Only the old man was least expert of the three, his 
hand not being so steady nor vigorous, nor his eye 
as true, as I warrant it had been in his best days. 
8o Pounder and Samuel had the match between 


268 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

them : after making the rock ring again with their 
pebbles, so close to the fruit, ’t was a wonder the 
stone did not hit it outright, going within such a 
hair’s breadth ; at last, I say, on the sixth shot, John 
Pounder voted with a plumper, and sent the bread 
fruit skimming into the water beyond. 

This was enough for me, and the rest who looked 
on ; for we found the savages would be a full match 
for us at that work, should they grow ill-disposed : 
and ’twould be little odds to a dying man to be sent 
out of the world by an arrow, or a dart, or by the 
blow of a stone. So we bade them desist, some- 
what sternly, and this trial made us a little jealous 
of them again. 

For ourselves, we set about to purvey us some 
archery weapons ; first, the bamboo canes we had 
pulled out of the marsh proved quite serviceable for 
bows, being more springy than English yew, and as 
much to the purpose as the hiccory wood of the 
American forests, which the natives make use of for 
their bows. As regards bow-strings, too, we found 
means to dress some sinews we had met in cutting 
up our shark ; which proved tough and springy to a 
degree, sending off the arrow with a twang like the 
sound of a Welsh harp on my ear. Only, our stock 
of arrows was scanty ; we found nothing fitter for 
the purpose than the younger and slenderer of the 
bamboos we had brought home ; and out of the 
whole bundle we contrived no more than seven 
arrows in all, cutting them to the proper lengths * 
measuring that from the clenched fist of our left hand^ 
stretched at full length, to the tip of our right ear. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE, 


269 


It cost US some labour to smooth these canes for 
©ur arrow-making : I mean, to take off the knots they 
were encumbered with, of which each several arrow 
had three or four at the least : but in this work the 
Indians were our journeymen, with help of the 
shark’s teeth and our knives ; and in two or three 
hours we managed to have them as smooth as a 
tobacco-pipe, or a gun-barrel turned out complete by 
a Bromwicham gun-smith. 

Thus, we formed ourselves into an archery club ; 
I mean. Gill, Harvey, myself, and Ned Hilton, who 
were like to be most expert at the practice ; as for 
Prodgers, he volunteered, to our surprise, to stand 
near the butt (which was the stump of a tree) and 
fling back our arrows that missed the mark : also to 
keep our score. Nor did I see in anything more 
than in this, the change that had come over our old 
comrade : for he that a while ago had struggled for 
the gun with so obstinate a temper as had like to 
end in manslaughter, now stood in the best of humour 
while we shot, and gave us back our arrows without 
a thought of rivalry or discontent. 

W^e were careful, though, to send the Indians out 
of the way during our first practisings, lest they 
might see (and in this ’twas easy) we were inferior 
to them in anything. Don Manuel engaged to lead 
them back the first day to the bamboo-marsh, to 
fetch us a fresh supply of canes. Telling Samuel of 
this, he made him guide of the party, and they went 
off at a pace. They were away about tliree hours in 
all ; when they came to us again, ’twas with a good 
load of bamboos, mostly of the smaller sort: but 


270 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


three or four, too, of the oldest and biggest they 
could meet with ; and these were Don Manuel’s choice, 
he told us, to make trial of a plan that came into hii 
head while they were cutting them. 

For he wanted to see if he could make these large 
hollow canes any how serve as a conduit to convey 
to our cave some of the fresh water from River-head, 
or elsewhere. This was a first necessity, indeed ; the 
water near our castle [so we began to call that hole 
in the rock] being saltish in taste, and unwholesome, 
which was the chief drawback, we began to see, in 
our choice of the place. We now applied ourselves 
to this work ; we lit a strong fire, and thrust the 
longest piece of gunbarrel into it, having fitted a 
smaller bamboo to this, by way of a long handle. 
When ’twas red hot, drawing it forth, we thrust it 
into the end of the large cane, till we burnt quite 
through the knot that stopped the passage : at least, 
part burning and part boring, we got through it 
somehow. Then we did the same again and again 
(there being no fewer than fourteen knots within a 
length of three yards or so) till, burning through 
them, now at this end, now at the other, at last the 
hot barrel bored the length of pipe clear through. 

But then, we reckoned how much time it might 
take, and how many bamboos employ, to lay a 
conduit from point to point; that is, from the 
fountain to our cave, which we now found to be 
farther ofl* than it seemed before. This, with cutting 
the bamboos, and dragging them to the spot, we 
reckoned would be a work of months, and hard 
w>s>rk too. To save ourselves needless labour, we 


VHK OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


271 


made some expeditions into the woods on every 
side, in parties of two or three at a time, and all 
our aim was to search for water. But finding none 
to compare to the spring at River-head, and being 
determined, on the other hand, not to ahandom our 
castle, we e’en made up our minds perforce to go on 
with the conduit : and appointed gangs, or working 
parties, to carry on that trade, together with the 
mason’s work we had in hand. 

For it is time I should now inform the reader how 
we distributed ourselves to these employments. It 
must be noted that we had three great irades to 
carry on ; house-building, or mining ; making our 
conduit ; and purveying food : and nine workmen to 
employ in them. I say, nine workmen, for the priest 
would not hold himself released from the burden, 
neither ; and when I told him we were well content 
if he would but pray for us, or take such light em- 
ployments as might turn up, he reminded me. Saint 
Paul was a tentmaker, and Saint Peter and the other 
apostles, fishermen : “ as though,” says he, “ to teach 
us, ’tis not alone eyes and brain heart and tongue, but 
hands and feet, thews and sinews, are to be used in 
the service of our Master.” 

Thus we divided our working gangs : — Harry Gill 
and I were charged to provide our daily meal from 
the woods, turn and turn about ; we charged our- 
selves, too, above all things, to be very sparing of 
the ammunition, and never waste a shot. But in no 
long time, as I have just said, we learned to spare 
our guns altogether, and brought down everything 
by archery. Prodgers and old Mark were set to 


272 


THB ADTENTURES OF OWEN ETANS, 


bore the bamboos with a hot gun-barrel, and keep 
up the fire: Pounder had to make some mason’s 
tool’s out of shark’s teeth, and flints hammered to 
an edge (he fitted them into handles of a hard wood, 
which we call iron- wood, and bound them in tight 
with the shark’s sinews ;) Samuel, who was supposed 
to be more or less under the eye of the priest, was 
always going back and forward to the marsh to 
fetch bamboos ; which he did very actively, and by 
little and little brought in a middling-sized heap. 
The other men, Tom Harvey and Hilton [with Gill 
or myself, whichever had not the shooting turn that 
day,J worked steadily at our cave, of which more 
hereafter. 

Among mese employments I know not under what 
head to class our archery practice, which we persever- 
ed in daily, always having the Indians at a distance, 
employed on some hand-labour, with Prodgers or 
Don Manuel to watch them. But as a prince has 
his standing army under continued discipline, with 
great field days, and skilful manceuvering, no less 
than his finance or victualling department, and 
board of works, so we, in our small kingdom, reck- 
oned our archery among such military operation* 
as are always, I hope, the profession of a gentle- 


THl OATHOLIO CRUBOB. 


278 


CHAPTER XLVL 

ARCHERY AND POTTERY. 

We now agreed to lay aside our guns altogether 
and husband our powder to the utmost ; so, depending 
on our archery, as though we had no guns at all, 
’tie incredible what a skill we attained within a few 
weeks of practice [for we practised at the least an 
hour and a half daily,] till at length we made noth- 
ing of hitting a bread-fruit without fail at eighty or 
ninety yards. I said the priest and Hick Prodgers 
made none of our party at this 5 but ’tis only true 
to say so at the first : for, hearing of our skill, they 
begged for their share in the practice too. They 
came, indeed, at a disadvantage, being late in the 
field ; yet, by extra diligence, they made up for lost 
time : till, at length, I scarce could tell which bore 
away the palm. But I am sure, the worst of us 
would have been hailed a first-class shot at any ar- 
chery in England ; and I question if Robin Hood 
had many to beat us in his Sherwood band. Yet 
on a comparison, though some days one and some 
another, again, would shoot surprisingly well, and 
then fall back into the ranks, we ranged much in the 
)rder I here set down : — 

Harry Gill, captain, by consent of all ; 

Myself, fairish, and pretty equal ; 

Hed Hilton, unsteady, better and worse ; 

Tom Harvey, diligent, never making a great 
miss ; 


274 THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN STANS, 

Don Manuel, the same, only with want of prac- 
tice. 

Richard Prodgers^ worst, but good humored 
about it. 

At this stage, we could show ourselves as archers 
before the Indians, without fear of being lookea 
down on ; so one day, taking them with us on an 
expedition, our guns slung over our shoulders, 
but our bows in our hands, in the course 
of our ramble we knocked over, each of us, and quite 
with a natural ease, a something to prove our skill : 
one a bird, another a fruit, a third fixed his arrow in 
the knot of a tree : in a word, we shot so well that 
now we gave (or lent^ rather) each of the Indians a 
bow and arrow like our own, and elected them mem- 
bers of the club : having provided a plenty of bam- 
boos, both great and small, in two or three journeys 
we made to the swamp. 

Let any one explain it as he may, but these sava- 
ges, by some natural instinct, gained ground quick- 
ly upon us in the use of their weapons ; so that soon 
we ceased to have trials of skill, lest we might be 
worsted, and confined ourselves to what archers call 
ranging^ aiming at any chance thing that met us on 
our walks, instead of a butt or target. 

So, to enlarge my list, I have put down the In- 
dians in the order wherein we reckoned them (among 
ourselves,) though we did not let them know it. 
Thus we stood; 

John Pounder, captain (without knowing it.) 

Harry Gill, as before, but, stirred up to rivalry by / 
Pounder’s shooting, improved daily; 


THB OATHOLIO OBI] SOB. 


275 


Samuel, came very nigh to Harry, and beat him 
Boon; 

Myself (though I say it that should not say it) 
not much behind Samuel ; 

Ned Hilton, mended his shooting as he mended 
his character for steadiness ; 

Tom Harvey, got on by degrees ; 

Don Manuel, ditto, but with a better eye than 
Harvey, though his hand not so strong ; 

Old Mark, rather past his shooting, but managed 
to hit fairly well ; 

R. Progers still brought up the rear. 

While this was going on, we made some attempts 
to mould the clay we had found by that stream I have 
spoken of, into pottery ware : but our attempts 
were awkward, and the things we produced, clumsy 
to a degree. Our Indians brought us five or six 
heavy loads of the clay, and did w^hat they could to 
help us in the work ; but here they were novices, as 
much as ourselves. For (it seems) they had never 
hit on any of the like manufacture among those 
savage tribes; but were content with such cala- 
bashes and other vessels to hold water as they could 
fashion from gourds and such-like rinds, dried and 
baked in the sun : as to boiling or stewing, they had 
not a notion of it, further than to put some pieces 
of flesh into a calabash with water, and throw in hot 
stones as a make-believe to boil, and nothing more. 
All this we made out from old Mark, who wonder- 
ed, with his brother Indians, at what we were after. 
The truth is, we were tired of seeing nothing before 
US but baked meat at table, (getting fanciful, as ’t is 


276 THE ADTBNTDRBS OF OWEN BVANB, 

human nature to do, amid our abundance,) so, resolr 
ed to persevere at this making of pots and pans, till 
we had produced a kettle, and so a boil or stow of 
some sort. 

They say, man can compass, by perseverance, 
whatever is possible in itself ; and succeed we did, 
at last, at least enough for our needs : though ’twere 
a curious catalogue to present the reader with, did I 
number up all the larger boiling kettles and stew- 
pans, some deeper, some shallower, [for we tried all 
ways, and all shapes and sizes,] together with such 
smaller attempts, as butter-boats, drinking mugs, oil- 
flasks, and what not, that we cracked in the oven, 
trying to bake them hard. We made a vast collec- 
tion of dry wood for this purpose ; and spent many 
hours experimenting, now with a fierce fire, now with 
a slack one ; now we made the clay so wet it wa« 
mere mud, and would scarce stand upright ; now 
again we worked it so dry, ’twas hard to work it at 
all. Each time we moulded one, and heaped wood 
round it, setting it on fire, we stood round to watch, 
and hoped it was going to be the first success. 
Never, I believe, did a chemist in his laboratory so 
eagerly watch some great experiment going on un- 
der his eyes, as we did, when we raked away the 
ashes with great care from round our clay-vessels, 
and drew them forth with bamboos ; but cracked and 
useless, like the former. 

At last — ’twas on a Saturday, the eleventh of 
September, just before the rains set in, and a great 
day in the history of our colony — whether we had 
tempered the clay better, or got it from a finer vein, 


THIS OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


277 


or whether the fire had been kindled more evenly all 
round the clay at once, or kept up steadier to the 
right pitch [for both these we discovered to be very 
material points in the business], at length, I say, to 
our inexpressible joy, having slackened our fire for 
the third time that very day, prepaiing our minds for 
a fresh disappointment — to which we had become 
used, as the eels are to being skinned — this one 
blessed time we drew forth, with shouting, a large, 
ugly, misshapen thing, but sound as a bell, and burnt 
as red as a brick-bat, that would hold, I am sure, 
from four to five gallons of water. I say shouting, 
but I might add dancing, too : for we began to caper, 
like so many madmen, round the work of our hands ; 
and you might have supposed us all [I mean all but 
Don Manuel, who stood by and laughed aloud while 
he shared our joy] to be a party of wild Indians, per- 
forming a war-dance round some captive they had 
triumphed over, before they fell to eating him. At 
length, when our extravagance had subsided some- 
what, we returned to the fire again, and found with 
fresh joy one large flat dish, three mugs, and a plate, 
all equally good, beside a few that were part spoiled, 
but could be made to do till better offered. And 
from that time we burned some every day, with much 
•uooess, till the rain drove us into covert in our cave. 


278 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EYANf, 


CHAPTER XLVn. 

THE CASTLE WITH ITS OUTWORKS. 

It may surprise my readers that all this time wt 
had not looked after the cRnoe that was thrown 
ashore ; considering how anxious we were, all along, 
to devise some means of escape from this prison of 
ours. But the truth was, Prodgers, in an idle mo- 
ment, had strolled down to that part of the beach, 
and found the thing lying keel upwards, half buried 
in the sand, and so broken-backed as to be no longer 
seaworthy for the calmest sea. When he reported 
this to us, we gave up all thoughts of refitting her, 
having no tools proper for the purpose ; for knives 
and gun-barrels never yet built a ship, nor repaired 
one; though, to be sure, our Indians might have 
done something in that way, had we so employed 
them. But we hasted, as I said, to house ourselves 
before we were caught by the rains, which we now 
expected to come upon us almost daily : so that work- 
ing at our cave, together with purveying our food, 
became our chief employment. Nor can I write the 
annals of our little colony, though briefly, and not 
give a word to each of these works of ours. 

First, Our Cave By dint of steady mining in 
gangs or relays, as I have explained, we had now 
got some way in without finding crack or vein in 
the rock, nor aught to give us help, nor hindrance 
either : for all seemed of one material, only it got 
spfler, the deeper we went. So that at last we 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


279 


worked nearly as mucli with a large bamboo cut 
sharp (somewhat like a pen, about three feet long, 
and pointed with a large flint,) as with our chisels, 
which we spared as well as we could. In this way 
we had gone in, I am sure, near thirty feet before 
we began to enlarge our cave in height or breadth : 
but we were soon forced to set about that work too, 
from the heat and closeness of the air, which scarce 
permitted us to breathe freely, and hindered our work- 
ing long at a spell. Begmning with height, we now 
worked over our heads, till we were able to stand 
upright at the inner end, which was a great relief to 
us : for up to that, we had gone on nearly bent 
double, or upon our knees. So now, having an inch 
or two to spare overhead, we set our faces (I mean 
the two that worked together, one hewing to his right, 
the other to his left,) towards the entrance, and 
worked steadly back on our steps : till nearing the 
entrance itself, we left that pretty much as we found 
it, small and rude, like the burrow of some wild 
animal, for our greater security and hiding. But, 
for the rest of our cave, it grew more spacious every 
day : until over a fortnight from our beginning to 
work, we found ourselves possessed of a comfortable 
house (though very dark,) thirty feet long, with a 
height ranging from six to seven feet, and about the 
same in breadth. Together with these dimensions 
our house or castle was much drier than many old 
houses I have known in civilized parts ; there being 
but one place where we discovered the least drip of 
water. As we found this water, on tasting it, very 
cold and pure, free from so much as a taint of sulphur 


280 THI ADTENTURBS 07 OWEN EVANS, 

or any other, we reckoned it no small advantage to 
the cave, and agreed we would enlarge it into a well 
or reservoir when we had more leisure on hand. 

So far, we were prepared for the rains, come when 
they would. Only, the easier we worked, and the 
further we went in, the larger grew' the heap of rub- 
bish we were forced to throw out of our cave ; till 
at last it reached more than half way up from the 
ground outside, to the mouth itself, like a pyramid 
of loose sand, leaning against the cliff. We feared 
to leave it where it was, knowing ’t would easily be- 
tray our whereabouts to the cunning of any savages 
who might visit the island ; and the first thing to do 
now was to clear it away, or (better still) make it a 
part of our defences. So, quitting our inside work alto- 
gether for a time, we considered how to dispose of this 
great heap of soil. For let any one reckon a mining- 
work of the measurements I have stated, and add 
to it this also, that the rock which was compact in its 
native quarry, made up a larger bulk when ’twas 
thrown out as loose soil ; and he will have some 
guess of the mountain of work that now lay befoie 
us. 

But the worst was, we had no tools whatever, such 
as shovels, to set to work with; nor prospect of any 
but the clumsiest make-believes to stand in their 
place. All we could devise was this ; to fit some 
such slaty stones as we had dug the Indian’s grave 
with, into bamboo handles : this we managed passable 
well, but spent upon it the remainder of our twine ; 
yet, after all this contrivance, the slates were for 
ever breaking in the work, or coming unbound froiM 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


281 


the handles. However for want of anything better, 
to it we went ; supplying for the badness of our tools 
by the number of workmen [for we now called all 
hands to this, and Don Manuel, too, took his day’s 
work like any journeyman,] and by an extra stock of 
good will and good humour. 

Our plan was, to block up with this sand the whole 
passage between the cliff and leaning rock, on the 
side by which we first entered our hiding-place ; for 
on that side the trees were scantier, and ’t would be 
more easy to find us out. Then, when the rainy 
season should be over, and the earth left moist and 
easy to be worked, we resolved to plant all outside 
of this bank of soil, and the bank itself, with young 
trees, or shoots, such as we might discover to grow 
quickest, and bear transplanting ; so as both to bank 
and plant ourselves out from the world altogether. 
But this was a mighty labour indeed, for nine pairs 
of hands and nine awkward spades ; and I question 
if they who built the pyramids of Egypt had more 
work before them, considering the number of work- 
men, than we with our bank of sand. We did the 
best we could; though ’twas a bungling piece of 
business, after all; and banded our work together 
with such large stones as lay in the neighbourhood, 
heaving them to the spot with levers of bamboo : 
then using them as masons use the larger stones to 
bond a wall. 

Upon the whole, this was even harder work than 
mining into the cliff, and without the interest of 
discovery to animate us : for our Royal Sappers and 
Miners [so we called the two workmen] were always 


282 


TM ADTENTURBS OP OWEK BVAN8, 


expecting, every stroke they made, to break into 
*ome cave already formed in the heart of the rock, 
and so end their labours at once. In short, our 
sand-banking became so irksome and laborious, we 
had no small ado to keep the men at it, during the 
time [which was four full hours] we had agreed to 
devote to it every day. The weather, too, was 
sultry, which added to our labour, and increased the 
discontent of those who were disposed to grumble : 
BO that every now and again, one would throw down 
his tool, and protest, for his part, he was no galley- 
slave, nor any slave, black or white, to keep on at 
this work any longer. 

I had to behave like the captain of a ship when 
signs of mutiny begin to appear on board ; now I 
humoured them, now reasoned, now joked with them : 
some times I went the length of a threat, if they 
would not make common cause in our labour, they 
should be banished from our commonwealth, and 
sent away to the further side of the island : though 
I must say, matters seldom went that length. But 
what persuaded them to endure, more than all 
words, was the example of our patient, cheerful 
Spanish friend ; who worked harder, in proportion, 
than any of the rest, with a smile and a word for all , 
nor even rested, but to take up his breviary awhile : 
though you could see, he felt this hard labour more, 
by far, than the rough tars working side by side with 
hun ; and liis very hands bore witness he had been 
used as little to handle a spade, as a rope or an oar. 

As to the further entrance, 1 mean that other 
iide of the passage between the cliff and our grand 


THE OATHOLIO 0RU8OE. 


288 


ttair-case, opposite to that one we were banking up ; 
we had less care for that, seeing ’t was more thickly 
set with trees, and turned away more from any 
practicable landing-place : therefore we would not 
bank up that, but kept it for our own approach to 
our castle below. Only, we contrived a winding 
path through the trees, narrow and difficult to hit ; 
clearing away some bushes here, and matting them 
together there : besides getting rid of a tree or two 
that stood right in the path, by burning it all round, 
a little above the roots, with our gun-barrels heated 
red-hot, and sawing it through afterwards with 
Masters Pounder’s shark’s teeth saws. In this wind- 
ing path we also 3ontrived several traps and blind 
alleys, to mislead an enemy who had not the secret 
of the place; though not with so much art as Don 
Manuel and I had drawn our mazes on paper with, 
yet enough to puzzle a stranger, or several together, 
till we should get ready, and give them a warmer re- 
ception. Moreover, we dug two or three narrow pit- 
falls here and there, as deep as the height of a man, and 
as narrow as saw-pits ; covering them with small weak 
branches laced across, and a thin layer of earth over 
all Cunning places they were, truly, into one of 
which old Prodgers fell, not long after, by taking a 
wrong turn in a hurry ; and proved [against his will] 
the excellence of the trap, not being able to free 
himself till we pulled him out with a rope. All this 
happened some time after ; but I set it down here to 
show how we made our defences complete to the 
utmost we were able. 


284 


THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVAN8, 


CHAPTER XLVIIL 

OTJR LARDER AND FARM-YARD. 

Secondly, Our Food. Harry Gill and myself [1 
have said], being better shots than the rest, were 
mostly purveyors to our society ; and after, when we 
laid aside our guns, taking to the bows and arrows, 
and went ranging through the island for praciice, 
still it was to us they chiefly looked for securing the 
daily meal. Our island furnished game in plenty, as 
we were thankful to find, more and more ; so we had 
no lack of it. We went on adding, too, to our stock 
of arrows, and, with ofir growing skill in archery, we 
became lords and masters of all the live stock in the 
place, four-footed or winged: I might say, web- 
footed, too ; for as time went on, we found amazing 
numbers of sea-fowl that harbored on the south-west 
quarter of the island, at least during several months 
in the year. 

But these we rather looked on as distant allies, or 
wandering tribes on the frontier, than as regular 
subjects of our kingdom ; and spared them all the 
more, fearing to lose our arrows by aiming at them : 
nor did we ever attempt it but when the tide was 
setting strongly in-shore. ’Twas no loss to us to let 
them alone ; for one or two that we pierced from 
time to time, when they floated in, proved to have 
an indifferent, fishy taste, not fit for the table of gen- 
tleman who had the stock of an island to pick and 
ehoose from. All things, indeed, are by comparison ; 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


285 


for I have heard of some poor fellows turned adrift 
in a boat on the open sea, to whom a booby or a 
penguin, when they could knock them over, have 
been delicious fare in theii’ hunger ; and we should 
have been ungrateful wretches not to acknowledge 
our better plight. 

But one of our great endeavours in the article of 
food was to take some wild animals alive, so as to 
preserve or tame them, and make a farm-yard around 
us by degrees. ’Twas some time before we succeed- 
ed at all in this ; at last, one day, Harry Gill and I 
being out together, we came on a sudden upon a 
herd of peccaries, old and young. Or, I should say, 
they came upon us, rather; for we were in their way 
in the middle of a path they had worn for themselves 
by constant traffic through the woods, to get at fresh 
water that flowed between the volcano and the w.s. 
w. of the island. How the peccary, like many hu- 
man creatures, is a much bolder and fiercer gentle- 
man when he has got numbers to back him than when 
you take him alone ; yet even alone he is apt to be 
savage, and turn on you with his tusks if you slightly 
wound him and despatch him not outright. This we 
knew well, having at times been forced to dodge 
among the trees to get away from a wounded one till 
we could settle him by a second shot. So now, find- 
ng ourselves face to face with so many together, we 
gave them the wall (as I might say) with great re- 
spect : slipping quietly aside into the jungle or bush, 
Harry Gill on one side, and I on the other, to leave 
Uieir path clear. 

On they came, at a kind of shuffiing trot, grunting 


286 THK ADVENTURES OE OWEN EVANS, 

and squealing like a herd of wild pigs, as indeed they 
•were ; first came some of the older and stronger 
of the herd, with formidable tusks truly, like pioneers 
to clear the way, and ’tis my belief, had they charged 
against a regiment in a line, they had put many a 
veteran soldier to the rout. Next cantered on sev- 
eral scores of others, led by these brave captains, and 
the little pigs enclosed among them for shelter and 
protection. But ’twas just one or two of these 
youngsters we had fixed our minds on : so, making a 
sign to Harry Gill to get into a tree on his side the 
path, I did the same on mine ; when, being both well 
settled in our perches, “Now !” cried I, “ aim at the 
young pigs, Harry ; and try to disable them, not to 
kill.” 

At the sound of my voice the leaders of the herd 
stopped short ; for by this, they had all but come up 
to our ambush, and began snuffing the air, grunting 
with rage to know an enemy was nigh, yet not able 
to see him. After a little, when they had poked 
about among the bushes, they seemed not to like the 
chances, and determined on a retreat ; so, giving a 
deep grunt or two, as a word of command, they all 
wheeled about, and were for trotting back the way 
they came. 

That was not the welcome we meant to give them, 
by a great deal ; so, bidding Gill take good aim, and 
have a second arrow in readiness, we both let fly, 
\nd winged each our pig ; then, fitting at once an- 
other arrow to the string, we gave it them again, be- 
fore they had recovered the first surprise and confu- 
lion : on which there rose such a grunting and squeal- 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


28 / 


ing of the herd as would have sent a musician out of 
his wits: however, the end was, off they all scamp- 
ered, leaving the wounded to fare as they might. 
When we saw the coast was clear, and heard them 
hurry pell-mell through the woods, we came down 
from our trees to secure our booty : and I must take 
credit for our archery, seeing but one out of the four 
we had shot was dead, the rest only wounded, as we 
designed, and one so slightly it cost us no little 
trouble to secure him. 

On this, we blew our horns ; which calls for a 
word of explanation here. I should have related, 
before now we had found a kind of conch, or large 
winding shell, among the rocks, on our first Friday’s 
expedition to the further side of the island ; we soon 
found means to fashion these into a kind of trumpet ; 
and they served us as well, as if we had been so many 
Tritons, giving forth a deep sound, like the bellowing 
of a bull, that might be heard a good way off. These 
horns soon brought to us two of the Indians, Pounder 
and Samuel, who, from their swiftness, were the light 
skirmishers of our party. Amongst us all, we 
managed not only to secure the three piglings, but to 
bring them home, together with the dead one. But 
these young peccaries were fiercer than their size or 
age warranted : and we had some ado to escape being 
tom by their tusks, though small ; indeed, we did not 
come off unscratched from the fight. 

When we got them home, we were at a loss how 
to bestow them; for first, we had to heal their 
wounds, and next, to keep them safe : we feared they 
would die and be useleep to ns or live and run away 


288 THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

to the woods again. By degrees they grew tamer ; and 
we cultivated their friendship on the same terms as 
the slave who, fleeing from his master, took refuge 
in the lion’s cave, became friends with the lion he 
found there with a thorn that festered in his paw : 
that is to say, we first extracted our arrows with 
more tenderness than we had shot them ; then, by 
aid of the Indians, found some of those same leaves 
they had plastered Prodgers’ face with and applied 
them to the wounded peccaries. At length, the 
poor little beasts began to look on us as their bene- 
factors ; and we, on our side, grew more liberal in 
giving them such food as they liked :*for at first we 
kept them on short commons, to tame them by 
hunger. 

All this while, we had them tied by the leg to 
three trees, just outside our encampment, where we 
could see them from the cave’s mouth : resolving, if 
ever we observed a sign of savages visiting the 
island, to turn them loose into the woods, lest their 
squealing might betray us. To make a- long story 
short, within a reasonable time they grew so tame, 
I believe we might safely have cut the ropes, and 
they had stayed with us : but, having come by them 
hardly, we would run no risk of parting with them 
lightly : so, fetching a compass with them till we 
found means to mount them up on a part of Cape 
Look-Out, we wattled off a small piece of table-land 
there for a tarm-yard, weaving branches of trees in 
and out, till we made a ring-fence large enough for 
them to range in. We strengthened this here and 
there on the outside, driving in some live stakes of a 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


289 


tree of the nature of a willow : but it took root faster 
and firmer, and sent out strong shoots the very next 
spring ; so that we lived to see our stakes form a 
circle of fiouri^hing young trees. This is the history 
of our farm-yard in its infancy ; and this was the last 
out-door work we engaged in before the rains came 
to shut us up. 


CHAPTER XLIX. 

WE CARVE OUT A KITCHEN. 

Soon after this, as I said, the rainy season came, 
and came in earnest ; those of us who had not yet 
known the tropics during the autumnal equinox, had 
to learn (as they now did) what rain can do. ’Twas 
not a shower, nor a tempest, and then over ; but it 
rather came down in sheets of water than in the way 
of rain ; and that too, both day and night continually, 
as though it were poured out of some mighty reser- 
voir in the heavens above. Don Manuel, on our I’e- 
marking this, spoke to us of the great deluge that 
was once sent upon the earth for the wickedness of 
man : when “ the fiood-gates of heaven were opened# 
and the rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty 
nights,” till all the human race was destroyed but 
eight persons alone. This, he said, might stand as 
one testimony of the extreme provocation of sin 
against the Lord who commanded His creatures’ 
obedience ; so going on, from one discourse to an- 


290 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 


other, while we were busied at work in our cave, and 
turning all into good, like the old king in the fable, 
whose touch turned all into gold. 

Being now close prisoners [for we could not stir 
out without being drenched,] we set to work on 
completing our cave architecture ; we determined to 
make it a regular habitation, and commodious enough 
to hold ourselves and our stores together. Our first 
care was to provide a kitchen ; which I hope the 
reader will not take amiss, as though we were grown 
too fond of the good cheer which the island afforded 
but will remember (as the saying of some wise man 
is reported,) though we did not live to eat, we must 
eat to live. Well, this kitchen of ours was the part 
of our mansion that gave us most trouble, by far ; 
and that, because of the chimney it needed, which at 
first was beyond all our engineering. We tried, 
once or twice, to cook our meals in the great vestibule, 
or cave itself, that we had hollowed ; but we were 
fairly put to flight, and driven out into the rain, by 
the stifling smoke that rose from our wood fire. So, 
making a virtue of necessity, we set about smoking 
what meat we had provided, [as several flitches and 
hams of peccary, together with some large wild-fowl 
we had brought down with our arrows,] and so lay- 
ing it up in store to consume by degrees. Here we 
employed our Indians, who were not so much afraid 
of a wetting as we ourselves ; making them under- 
stand what we would have done, we had the satis- 
faction to see them, under our own eyes [for one of 
us always stood to mount guard at the cave’s mouth,] 
set up a small booth, or curing-house, of four trees 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


291 


thatched with leaves, to smoke the bacon in. They 
built this booth within the embankment I have spoken 
of, which we always called our fortification, or out- 
works, leaning one side up against the clifi*. 

The benefit of this plan was, it needed not that we 
should gather dry wood for the business ; but on the 
contrary, green wood smoked the meat more thorough- 
ly, and we saved our dry fuel to warm us by, or for a 
little slow fire of very dry sticks, almost like char- 
coal, whenever we should boil our vegetables, or 
make soup of a piece of fish with yams and bread- 
fruit, in one of our clumsy vessels of pottery. Yet, 
after all, a kitchen and a chimney we must need* 
have, and that for three purposes at once ; namely 
first, to warm ourselves by, and dispel the damp of 
our cave, if we found the rain to penetrate ; but that 
it never did, except in the one place, where it formed 
our well, so our fears were groundless on that score : 
then, secondly, to cook our daily meal, for we could 
not endure the smoke that arose even from our little 
fire for boiling; and, thirdly, for our oven; inas- 
much as we were now grown too dainty to be content 
with bread-fruit, but must have real bread beside. 
So we set about our kitchen as follows : 

We resolved, as the smoke from our chimney 
must find some vent to the upper air, this should be 
turned as far as possible from that part of the island 
our Indians had been driven upon ; fearing it might 
invite a visit from some others of the fraternity, not 
so easily tamed as these. Little did I think, indeed, 
ftt the time, what benefit a smoke from the island 


292 THE ADTENTURES OP OWEN X7AN8, 

was to bring to us hereafter. But I must not out' 
run my narrative, 

For this purpose, we went to the farthest end of 
our cave, being, as I said, full thirty feet from the 
entrance : then turning left ways (for we would not 
have our fire in a line with the cave’s mouth, lest icS 
light should ever betray us,) we cut a passage neai ly 
five feet wide into the living rock, working two at a 
time, in gangs, or relays, as before. When we had 
got from fifteen to eighteen feet in, the two »/orkmen 
then separated, each his own way, facing away from 
one another, and began hewing round again in a 
half circle ; that is, the right hand man bore continu- 
ally over towards his right shoulder, and the left hand 
man towards his left ; till at length, after incredible 
labour about (I am describing in a few lines what took 
up' several weeks to accomplish,) each man completing 
his half round, they came out again, nearly opposite 
one another, into the passage they began by cutting, 
as I said, leading out of the main cave. 

To be sure, this did not look much like a kitchen ; 
for ’twas nothing but a circular burrow, about the 
height of a man, with a straight passage, broader, 
running through it, so as to divide it into two halves : 
as my reader will see, if he hath attended to my rude 
account of it. Nevertheless, this was our kitchen in 
outline : and now, setting about to complete it, we 
resolved in the first place, we would leave enough of 
the rock on either side, (I mean, of the solid rock 
round which we had mined this burrow of ours,) to 
stand as a natural pillar, and prop up the roof. For we 
feared to leave so large a stretch of roof without 


THl OATHOLIO ORUSOl!. 


298 


fnpport ; lest our cave might, some day, on a sud- 
den, prove our sepulchre too. Thus we went on, 
making the passages wider, and reducing the two 
masses of standing rock ; now the whole of our party 
could work at it once, and it went on much quicker. 
Only, our tools were imperfect, forever breaking and 
getting out of use, it made the work slower, and 
tried our patience more ; the gun-barrels were by 
now much worn down with constant hewing, and 
we began to debate on sacrificing one of the other 
pieces to break up into mining tools. Indeed, our 
bow and arrows had taken the place of these weap- 
ons, and had we burnt a single grain of powder 
since we so improved in archery. On second 
thoughts, prudence bade us keep all our fire-arms in 
readiness, in case of any attack from savages ; for we 
reckoned, one discharge of our guns would be of 
more service in terrifying them, than whole quivers 
full of arrows, which are their own familiar weapons, 
and inspire them with no dread. 

But Pounder one day suddenly gave us more 
help in the way of tools than any one could, short 
of an ironmonger : for, being sent forth on a Friday 
morning to help Ked Hilton bring in some cray-fish 
and oysters from the other side the island (the rain 
having then somewhat slackened,) he brought, be- 
sides, one or two pieces of a very hard stone, tran- 
sparent like glass, and splitting off to a shape edge ; 
such (I believe) as learned people call quartz, and 
simple folks call glimmer. He had found these in a 
crack or vein, between tv o rocks, down which ran a 
little rapid stream, that had loosened these pieces 


THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN ETAN8, 

from the rocks ; and he said there was a good quan- 
tity more of the same to be found in that spot. By 
this time we were better skilled in binding our stones, 
hammers, or axe-heads, into the bamboo-handles, 
whereby we got on the faster at our work. At last 
we had so cut away the rock, we left nothing stand- 
ing on either side the kitchen but the two pillars of 
a biggish thickness : and the apartment itself was 
an irregular oval of about fifteen feet across, the 
longest way; by twelve, the shortest. We could 
not then stay to shape it more to our fancy, nor to 
carve out a seat, or transom, round the walls, as was 
afterwards done; our immediate concern was to 
pierce a vent, or chimney, up through the solid rock, 
over that part where we designed to make our fire, 
slanting to westward of the ridge of our look-out. 

This was the hardest task, by far, we had on hand • 
nor do I think, except for the lucky discovery of the 
glimmer-stones (that cut sharper and easier than 
others,) we had ever accomplished it. But, by help of 
a strong, determined will, and often changing the 
workmen, we overcame all obstacles : so, hauling up 
two young cocoa-palms into the cave, we made them 
into a rude ladder ; lacing them across with those 
same tough tendrils we had made our rope of, which 
the men called supple-jack. Thus we made a some- 
thing between a ladder and the shrouds of a ship, 
by help of which we mounted to the rocky roof of 
our kitchen, and began to pierce it at a slant ; so, 
still hewing on with perseverance, we made us an 
opening about three feet across, for convenience of 
working : and by degrees cut our way upward into 


THE CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 


295 


mde steps that supported one man at a time ; but, 
from the cramped position he was forced to maintain, 
and heat of the place, no one could work at this 
more than a quarter of an hour at one spell j and we 
were stiff and weary enough when we came down. 

After a full week’s work at the chimney alone, one 
morning, when Tom Harvey had taken his turn at 
the work, as he was boring upward with the gun- 
barrel [for that we did first, to pioneer, and then cut 
away the sides with the glimmer,] all at once he 
thrust the barrel forward freely at his arm’s length ; 
at the same moment some fresh wet earth fell into 
his eyes and mouth, and the cool air blew down up- 
on his face. Harvey was blinded and half choked 
and down he came, floundering among us in the 
kitchen, as we hewed at the pillars : nor could he 
answer our questions but by sputtering with his 
mouth full of earth. But Hilton, going to the 
hole, shouted out the thing was done! and, sure 
enough, when we ran to look, we saw the light of 
day, like a pale star, at the top. 

The rest was easy; for Harvey having left his 
tool sticking out at the top, when he was thus sa- 
luted by mother Earth to his discomfiture, we ha<i 
but to send one of our party on to the promon- 
tory, and enlarge our chimney-pot from above. 
But we charged him [’twas Pounder that went] 
only to make it wide enough to allow vent for the 
smoke, and be careful to build it round with 
bushes and sticks laid across ; as well to conceal 
it from human eyes, as to prevent any wild ani- 
mals paying us the unwelcome honor of a visit 
down the chimney 


m 


THI ADYENTUKSS OF OWEN £?AN«, 


CHAPTER L. 

EOCK AECHITECTURE. 

While this troublesome work was on hands, they 
who were not up the chimney were at other employ- 
ments; this being one among the things we had 
learned on the island, that man is destined to labour, 
even in solitude and amid plenty, if he would keep 
mind or body in health. So, importing another cargo 
of glimmer, with some fresh bamboos, into our cave, 
we fell to making a good stock of mining instruments. 
This done, then, under our priest’s directions (who 
seemed to understand such things more than might 
be thought,) we marked out the entrances to several 
other rooms leading off from our main cave, and 
hewed them out, as we had hewn the kitchen. 

To go to work on a regular plan, we made a list 
of the rooms we designed to have, which stood 
thus: 

A chapely to serve for our morning and night 
prayers, and for our private devotions. For, I must 
say, we had begun the habit of praying by ourselves 
a little, ere now ; and sometimes I would come on a 
sudden in our woods and walks upon one of our 
comrades on his knees, and I would strike into another 
path to avoid disturbing him ; this sort of thing grew 
up, as ’t were, by itself, and was getting quite com- 
mon, no one noticing it as strange. This little chap- 
el too, was to be for our instruction on Sundays 
foi Don Manuel preached to us now every Sunday 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


297 


and some other days, too; holy days, as he said, 
called so for one reason or another, which he told us 
as they came round. Lastly, on these days and Sun- 
days our chapel served another chief purpose, as I 
will tell. 

Then, we needed a store-room^ as well for our dried 
meats as to lay up fruits and vegetables : we deter- 
mined to make it with recesses in the w^all, like cup- 
boards without doors, all round, to keep the several 
stores apart from one another ; besides, we thought 
to dig a kind of shallow well, or vault, in the floor 
of this store-room, at the further end, and cover it 
with palm and other leaves, to keep such stores as 
would spoil unless they were kept cool, as cocoa-nut 
milk, and such like. For all which reasons, we meant 
to have this room as far as could be contrived from 
the kitchen fire. 

Item, one recess apart in the driest and safest 
comer of the cave, to stow away securely our small 
stock of powder : ’t was but a mere handful, in- 
deed, yet might prove the safety of us all in case of 
attack, or be our destruction if we w^ere heedless 
enough to let any spark get to it. 

Besides, we needed a work-room, for such employ- 
ments as would litter or lumber our great cave (so 
we called it,) too much to carry on there. ’T would 
be, indeed, a luxury more than necessity to us : 
nevertheless, as it was to be bought by labour, and 
lawflil to enjoy, we determined to have it, in its 
turn : though it came lower down on our list. Fur- 
ther, a sleeping-place or two for ourselves, and an- 
other for the Indians. At one time, we thought of 


298 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


contriving a kind of stable, or out-house (if they can 
be called so, that were inside the rock,) for our live 
stock, to protect them from wild creatures of their 
own kinds, or beasts of prey. But our other works 
in the cave took up such a time, we were forced to 
give over this last plan, at least for a while. N or was it 
of so much importance as the rest, after all ; for our 
peccaries throve well enough in the ring-fence above 
our heads, and were never molested, at least, nothing 
to speak of: though once or twice a sea-eagle made 
a swoop on our farm-yard, and carried off a young 

pig- 

I say, a young one ; for, what with two or three 
litters bred in the farm, and some beside, that we 
captured and brought in from time to time, we were 
soon very thriving farmers of live stock; in short, 
we had so many, we were rather concerned to thin 
them out, than add to them. And from thencefor- 
ward we never shot down peccaries for our larder ; 
for that were like carrying coals to Newcastle : but 
when we took our bows (and we took them every 
day again, when the rains were over) ’t was more to 
keep our hands in practice, and to fetch in a dainty, 
in shape of a wild turkey, or brace of parrots, or 
what not. And at last, we took to shooting fish, too, 
with some success. 

But to return to the cave ; I believe nine men (un- 
less galley slaves, or exiles in the Siberian mines) 
seldom worked harder under ground than we did, 
all through the ramy season : for it must be observed 
we were miners on our own account, and worked 
for no task-master ; who, the moment his eye was 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


299 


off, had no more work done for him.* Kor were 
we ever reduced to drive a bargain, or haggle about 
cliarging by the piece, or by the time. AW was 
straight before us, and all was our own ; our hands 
strong, our hearts cheery ; and being bound together 
by one common interest, each was forward to help 
the others, well knowing he would be helped in 
turn. Don Manuel gave us the plan, indeed, for our 
caves ; but was far from being like some who insist 
on doing good in their own way, or not at all. He 
adopted on the spot some changes we wished made ; 
and took his turn so cheerfully in hewing the other 
rooms, we were eager to help him with the chapel. 

I will have done with all this, after a few words 
about that chapel of ours. HVas very neatly coved 
or vaulted over, as high as we could well reach, 
standing mostly on a log and some large stones. 
Having time on hands, we took a pride in smooth- 
ing the roof fair and even ; as to the walls, we deter- 
mined not only to smoothe them, but plaster them 
too, as we afterwards did with well-kneaded clay, 
tempered and stiffened with a gluey kind of sap that 
we found oozing out from some gum trees up and 
down the island. This with small holes drilled here 

* If Don Manuel had heard (as perhaps he did) this remark 
of Owen’s, he would probably have reminded his friend, that 
we are bidden, in our service to our Divine Master, not to 
resemble those servants who are only faithful as long as they 
are under their employer’s eye. “ Servants,” says the Apostle, 
“ be obedient to them that are your lords according to the 
flesh with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your hearts, 
as to Christ : not serving to the eye^ as it were pleasing men, 
but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the 
heart ; with a good will serving, as to the Lord, and not to 
men.”— vi 6. So also Coloss. iii. 22, 24 . — Ed. 


800 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

and there in the vralls, as a kind of hold-fasts, made 
the clay stick well enough, and we were not a little 
proud of our plastered chapel. But the chief of our 
care we spent on the altar-end ; for there we hollowed 
out an alcove in the rock, vaulting the roof of it in a 
half circle. In the midst of this, we left the altar 
standing, being a block of the native stone, which 
we shaped by degrees, according to Don Manuel’s 
directions. 

Then, nothing would content us, but we must paint 
this end, as well as plaster it : so, while the clay was 
still moist, we contrived some red colour from the 
juice of a wild berry ; the Indians fetched these to us, 
when they understood what we would be at. They 
also brought in some earth of a brownish yellow, 
like ochre, and this gave us two colours ; being light- 
er in the natural unburnt state, and turning to a 
tawney red when calcined in our wood fire. Some 
black loam, or peat, of decayed leaves or fibres, 
made up our list of colours : with these four, we set 
to work ; first mixing them up with our gum, till 
they were near as stiff as japan painting on a screen 
or tea chest. Then we drew patterns within the 
alcove, on the yellow- white of our clay plaster; 
marking it all over with regular lines, now in one 
colour, now with another, sometimes with several 
together, side by side, and here and there with an 
imitation of trees, plants, and birds. ’T was all under 
our friend’s guidance ; for he showed himself, indeed, 
no mean artist here : at length, our rock chapel was 
a wonder for its decorations, and, when lighted up 
with candles, ’t was really a sight to look st. 


THl CATHOLIC C" 


This bird and tree-painting 
and mixing the colours) we 
days, after our morning devf 
prayers, or just before f 
these things we had even 
t. prayers twice, with n 
prised me a little that D 
in many things where 
even encourage us tr 
but he explained to u 
alone is forbidden i 
paintings like these 
pastime, not for gai 
what rich men do 
entertain their mi 
payment for it. P 
mark, how needfi 
such points, as to 
than men’s own w 
what he said to 
him at the tim 
blood in it, si 
might. 

“We must 
following his r 
that he oug^k 
great exactn^ 
perhaps, from 
may run mad, 
at keeping the 
the human min 
where the com 


TUKBS OF OWEN EVANS, 


^ and what is lawfully modified, 
landment to the letter, you 
r holy, not Sunday at all. 

Church, I say again, you 
lay of your lives, and de- 
i man was stoned in the 
'icks on the Sabbath.** 
rity she derives from 
y itself, and the mode 
. rs, dear friends, have 
not with Christian 
England, I am told, 
while other evils 
thought of. And 
, the special plan- 
make it criminal 
a Sunday, or have 
Ik for recreation, 
inued he, with a 
t were all ! But 
'rsake their own 


) 


turn CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


803 


CHAPTER LI. 

WHAT WE OUGHT TO HAVE KNOWN BEFORE. 

Cue evenings were spent, as they had been out of 
doors, round our fire; hut not idle time, neither: we 
scarce knew what it was to sit with our hands be- 
fore us, as some do who have what they call “ time 
on their hands,” and find it weigh heavy there : we 
always worked at somewhat, by the light of our can- 
dle-nuts, or lamps of shark’s oil, or tallow of the 
peccaries kept heated, and a cotton wick. For in 
these three ways we had contrived for ourselves 
lamps, or candles, howsoever you please to name 
them ; and having good store, both of these and dry 
wood for fuel, and no poor in our community, for 
whom we could spare anything, and deny it to our- 
selves, we kept up a rousing fire, with plenty of 
light, so that our cave, on winter nights, was a 
cheerful place indeed. 

If onr hands were busy, so were our tongues : for 
whether we filed arrow heads or fitted them to bam- 
boo shafts, new-strung our bows, or plaited cocoa- 
fibre, or spun off our cotton, or sharpened knives 
and hatchets of glimmer, yet talk we did, all the 
while, with that freedom that comes from confidence 
and brotherly charity. 

Don Manuel took a principal part in this ; and 
*twas not in the nature of man to be dull when he 
was by; at one time he could entertain us with sto- 
ries of what had chanced to himself in Spain or since 


804 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

he left it : at another, with some strange adventure 
he knew to have befallen others. Several evenings 
together, at our request, he related some passages ot 
his own life : and did it in such a simple, unaffected 
way, we never tired of listening to him, and would 
sometimes ask him to go over and over again our 
favourite stories. ’ T was plain, indeed, he had ex- 
perienced many chances and dangers; and the men, 
who had encountered such themselves, from a rest- 
less spirit that made them scapegraces at home, or 
from necessity to earn their bread at sea, wondered 
at a man like this, a gentleman born (for so he could 
not but imply, though he never said it), a scholar, 
and one of studious habits and refined taste, braving 
the wildest adventures for the love of God and souls. 
All this was even more than a sermon to us, though 
given under the guise of pastime : so that even now, 
methinks a life of Don Manuel had been of more in- 
terest to the reader, had I earlier attempted it. 
That, however, is too late, or must be thought of at 
a future day. 

Well, such discourse tended to good, whether by 
its own nature, or the turn he gave to it : so that, 
begin at what point we would, in most cases we 
found ourselves end with a talk about religion. 
And ’t was Don Manuel’s way so to order things, 
that what he said was suited both to the Indians 
and ourselves : or now a bit for us, then again some- 
thing for them. Besides, we practised their language 
by this discourse, and they ours; our talk being 
made up of a jargon betwixt English and Toonati- 
nookish, half and half. Indeed, I found this mode oi 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


305 


speaking so hard to shake off, after the years we 
spent at it, that when I came back to England (a 
thing I never thought to do at the time I now write 
of), I was for ever coming out with Indian words 
unawares : so that my friends would jest with me, 
saying, I was but a half-reclaimed savage, after all 
In particular, that exclamation of theirs, Oom, oora, 
at anything that pleased them much, would stick by 
me ; together with ^oiawna, to express, thans you. 
and eielo, a word signifying dislike or pain of any 
sort. But all this is by the way. 

We had begun in such ignorance of whatever re- 
ligion we were thought to profess, as made a great 
part of Don Manuel’s discourse to the savages use- 
ful to us also. At first, indeed, my in-bred dislike 
against priests and Popery, with all those old wives’ 
fables I had been brought up in (though softened 
by my knowledge of the man), made me watch his 
discourse narrowly, to discover the point, as I sup- 
posed, where true Christianity ended, and papistry 
began. For though I acknowledged in my heart, 
the priest was a good man indeed, and a model for 
any, yet (said I to myself,) the East Indian faquirs 
also lead austere lives, and Quakers are harmless, 
charitable people ; also, I knew an old man living 
near Caerphilly, that believed in no rising again 
after death ; leaving it in his will, he should be buried 
under a rose bush at the end of his garden, with his 
favourite dog and magpie : yet gave large sums to 
the poor at Christmas, and put out to ’prentice no 
less than five orphan children, besides other good 
deeds. Yet they were all wrong in their opinions 


806 THE ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

of a surety; and so, said I to myself, may our friend 
here be, too, with atl his good Christian life. 

However, one evening, when he was speaking on 
a point that gave rise to such thoughts in me, so that 
I ventured, with respect, to remind him we were 
protestants, after all ; he turns round to me witii 
surprise, and (speaking only in Spanish now, with 
some little Latin intermingled, that the Indians 
might not perceive there was a difference betwixt 
us:) 

“ Why, friend,” says he, ‘‘ do not you believe that, 
as well as I ?” 

“ You know,” he added, in a more affectionate 
way, “ how sorry I should be to give you pain : but 
let me say, plainly, no one who does not believe 
what I was then saying, can be called” — And here 
he stopped, seeming not to know how to go on. 

“ A Catholic, I suppose ?” said I to him. 

“ Well,” he answered, “ let us leave it so, for a 
time.” 

“A Roman Catholic then?” I pursued, for I 
wanted to see what he meant by this. 

“ That was not what I had on the tip of my tongue,” 
says he, smiling, “ nor is there any such distinction 
to be made between the terms : but shall I offend 
you, my friend, or shall I pain you, if I say what I 
really was thinking? Would it not be better to 
follow this out another time : — say, next time we walk 
together ?” 

“Do not fear. Sen or,” I replied, “ for you could 
not offend me, unless you became other than I havt* 
known you up to this. I will only ask for the one 


THB CATHOLIC 0BU80B. 


307 


word you did not say. The man who does not be- 
lieve the Virgin Mary is to be venerated as the 
Mother of God, is not — what is he not ?” 

“ Did you never,” he asked, looking at me kindly? 

begin a sentence, and then wished you had not to 
finish it ?” 

“ Sometimes,” I said, waxing somewhat impatient 
(for we Welshmen are apt to get a little hot *n our 
tempers when we are crossed,) “ but that is not the 
question just now. Pray tell me. Sir ; he is not — 
what ?” 

“ Well, then,” says he, speaking slow, in a thought- 
ful way, “ it may be the defect of his bringmg up, 
and the false tradition of his fathers ; or there may 
be excuses found for him, some of which I can see, 
and others I cannot see ; he may be better in practice 
than his opinions would lead to : prepared to receive 
the truth whenever ’t is really put before him : all 
those are favourable points in his case.” 

“ Well, well; granted; but he is not — what, if you 
please, sir?” 

“ He cannot,” says the priest, “ in any true sense, 
be called a Christian ; that is, a disciple of our Lord 
Jesus Christ.” 

He spoke it as if it gave him real pain to say the 
word; which now (looking back on this) I am sure it 
did. But at the moment, I only considered the 
words themselves ; and felt staggered, almost like 
one who has received a sudden blow. Don Manuel 
saw this ; and only added, as tenderly as a woman, 
like; 

“Listen, now ; let us see what our Indian fnends 


808 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

have to say about it. They have no early prejudices 
to overcome ; having never heard of Christianity but 
through a Catholic priest ; observe how these truths 
affect a simple mind, that lately was like a blank 
sheet of paper on the first ideas of the Christian faith : 
then weigh and balance, for yourself, what you have 
been taught against their convictions ; and see if two 
and two do not make four.” 

So he took my hand with more than his wonted 
kindness : for we sat next one another at the fire, 
the other men and the Indians making up the circle, 
though they had understood scarce a word. Then, 
turning again to John Pounder, he went on. 


CHAPTER LIL 

ANOTHER LEAP OUT OP THE CATECHISM. 

But first, it seemed to strike him, the rest might 
be tired of speaking on such grave things for that 
time. “ So I put it to the vote,” says he, cheerfully. 

Would you like, friends, to strike into some other 
discourse, or shall I now continue ? We have about 
a quarter of an hour, I suppose, before ’tis time for 
night prayers, and then to rest, after a hard day’s 
work.” 

“ Sir,” says Dick Prodgers, “ I being the oldest 
here, leastways of us white men, and so, ’t is likely, 
nigher to my dying hour, would prefer, if agree- 
able, to hear some more about all this : for I remem- 


THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


309 


her,” says the old tar, in a way that brought the 
very tears into Don Manuel’s eyes, “ being told, not 
long ago, the things we shall soon find ourselves in 
the midst of, being eternal, are of greatest moment.” 

So said the other men, more or less ; I mean, each 
in his way ; and Ned Hilton, being half asleep, gave 
a little sort of grunt, to vote with the rest. 

“ Well,” Don Manuel continued : “ then I will go 
on awhile ; and to-morrow we will go to something 
else I have in my mind.” 

“ Now, my dear children,” says he to the three In- 
dians, “ do you know your names ? We are going 
to make you Christians, and give you Christian 
ones, in place of what you have been called by. Toefa- 
oloo ” (this was the old man,) what does your name 
signify in Toonati-nooka ?” 

I must explain, in what I here put down, Don 
Manuel had by this become so good a scholar in 
their language, he understood most things they 
said, and spoke it passably well, as indeed he deserv- 
ed to do; having taken all occasions to converse 
with these poor creatures, for their good. 

Toefa-oloo. “ Tadoone ” (it means, in their langu 
father^ for by this name the priest had signified 
to us all he had rather be called ; so that we dropped 
the Don pretty much from that onward) — “Tado- 
one,” says he, “ Toefa-oloo all same as big Monkey.” 

At this, the men set up a laugh, and the Indians 
joined in it; though I would be bound, ’t was out of 
compliment to us only. 

Don M. (smiling.) “ Well, we will find a better 
name for you, my dear. What did I tell you you 


810 


THB ADTENTURES OP OWEN ETANS, 

would be, when the holy water of life was poured 
over you ?” 

Toefa-oloo. “ Den I be Mark, Tadoone.” 

Don M. “ Yes, that will be your name, I know. 
And why shall I give you that name ?” 

Toefa-oloo. “ Cause of one great much holy man ; 
he make black strokes so, so (making with his hand 
as though he were writing,) in great holy book.” 

Don M. “ And what was the book about ?” 

Toefa-oloo. “ He put down in book much what 
great, great, great holy God He say. He do. He 
hooroo-hooroo ” (Mark could not express suffer in En 
glish, so he used here the word in his language.) 

Don M. What did He hooroo-hooroo 

Toefd. “ Much great, much great : bad bad mans 
take, bind, beat, den (the rest he expressed in Too- 
nati-nookish, not finding words for it in English, 
which made me sorry the others of us did not under- 
stand him, for they had taken no pains to learn any 
but the commonest Indian words ;) bad, bad men,” 
he went on, “ took Him to a monntain, laid two 
trees on the ground, one across the other, laid Him 
on the trees, beat great nails, longer than shark’s 
teeth, quite through His tender hands and feet, into 
the trees; then set up the biggest tree, and the 
smaller to it, and Him on, till He died from pain.” 

Don M. (still in English.) Yes, that was what 
He suffered, indeed, and much more. But why was 
it He suffered ? Who was He, all the time ?” 

Toefa (bowing his head). “ Great, great, great 
much holy God.” 

Don M. “ And what is His name ?” 


THE CATHOLIC , CRUSOE. 


811 


Toefa. (bowing again, with the sign of the cross 
on his forehead and breast.) “ Otooma-Tehe, J esus 
Christus.” 

I must explain here that Otooma-Tehe was the 
word Toefa had coined (for he had to coin it) to ex- 
press the Christian idea of God, in distinction from 
their word for an idol, which was henatanoo. Now, 
Otooma-Tehe is made up of the three words, Oteo 
[one,] Tooma [lord or chief,] and Ethe [spirit ;] and 
the poor Indian was not a little fond of his new 
word : as I could discover by his singing it to himsell 
in a low voice while he was at work, as though he 
delighted to have found one true God in place of the 
multitude of his false ones. But to return. 

Don M. “ Tell me now, could not Otooma-Tehe 
do all things that He would ?” 

Toefa. “ O yes, O yes ! ail, Tadoone.” 

Don M. “ What, more than Paowanga ? more 
than Havaeoeekee ?” 

The poor old man looked up into the father’s face, 
surprised, to discover what he meant by asking this. 
But seeing the priest smile, he laughed outright, 
clapping his hands ; then he spat twice into the fire, 
to express his contempt for his former idols : each 
time he did so, he said, “ Udan, Paowanga he no 
good ! Udan, Havaeoeekee he no good.” 

On this, the other two Indians began to spit like- 
wise into the fire ; crying at the top of their voices, 
Eaha-noue, he he he no good ; Eaba-noue, he he he 
no good I” till the cave rang again. 

Our thoughtless Hilton, being waked by this out 
of his sleep, and learning what was going on, burst 


812 


THB ADTBNTUBB8 OW OWEN EYANf. 


into an uproarious laugh, and was joined in it by the 
rest : so, what with their merriment, and what with 
the poor Indians making their act of detesting their 
idols [which they did again and again,] there was 
noise enough. When it had ceased a little, though 
every now and then one would burst forth again, so 
greatly did this proceeding take the men’s fancies, 
Don Manuel [the father, I had better say] went on 
quietly. ' 

The Father, “ True, my dear ; our good Lord and 
God is Almighty ; He can do everything He wills to 
do. Then, why did He let those bad men take, and 
put Him to pain and death ?” 

Toefa. “ Tadoone, He give His own life up to 
dat.” 

The Father, “ And why ?” 

Toefa. “ O, oh I give His self to make Toefa-oloo 
be happy, happy and Rer-mimebolamba happy, and 
Poula-faihe happy and Eaha-noue in Toonati-nooka 
^^PPy? ^^PPy> much happy, for long time, long, 
O, long!” 

The Father. “And White Sas happy too ?” 

Old Mark (so we mostly called him) seemed puzzled 
to know what to answer ; looking upon us, after all, 
as superior creatures ; and, I believe, something as 
we look on the angels, beings that have never been 
redeemed, because they have never fallen. On the 
other hand, he was quite sure, if the brown man was 
to be made happy, the white man was (somehow) to 
be happier. So he was there, I may say, in a cleft 
stick, and knew not which side tq take : but sat, 
shaking his head, looking first at one then at another 
of us. 


tHB OATttOLIO OEtlBOlt. 


313 


“Well, old mess-mate,” cried Harry Gill, at last, 
“ do you not wish us to be happy too ?” 

“ O, oh 1” he answered : “ me ’spose white Sas much 
happy, much ; me ’spose, white Sas happy one place, 
brown mans happy one place he meant, each would 
be happy, but separate. “ Brown here,” says he, 
stretching out his left hand, “White here,” and 
stretched out his right. 

“ No, my dear brother,” cries the priest, and leaned 
forward to embrace him ; “ there is one heaven, aa 
there is one Otooma-Tehe : and may we all be happy 
there together !” 

Then the other Indians, too, began repeating, Oora^ 
oora ! nodding their heads again and again. 

At this moment, I whispered to him, he had not 
made the Indian prove to me, none but a Catholic 
could be a true disciple. 

“ Aye, indeed,” says he, thinking ; then turned to 
Toefa-oloo again. 

Don M, “ But tell me this ; when did our Lord 
Jesus Christus speak to moonaee-etoeea (all man- 
kind ?”) 

Toefa. “ Otooma-Tehe first dead, dead ; then — 

Dan M. “ Stay awhile ; how could He die, if He 
is God, and Almighty ?” 

Toefa. “ Tadoone, you me tell, Otooma-Tehe He 
no die, no die : but etoee (that is their word for man) 
yes he much die; Otooma-Tehe He make His own 
self be etooe, so He, etooe, all one : so He die.” 

Don M. “ True ; God became man, that He might 
die for us all; and He is both God and man in One 
Person. But how did Otooma-Tehe become man ?” 


814 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS. 


Toefa. “ O, Oh ! Otooma-Tehe He make, He 
choose, one much, much holy young maiden (he ex- 
pressed this partly in his own language,) He make her 
l/'ve all what Otooma-Tehe He love ; He place great 
much strong matan-geeva (shield) over (I now see 
though I did not understand him at the time, he 
meant to repeat something the father had taught him 
of the Blessed Virgin being preserved from all sin, 
and ‘ the fiery darts of the most wicked one :’) “ den 
He come, Pie make His own self be her child.” 

Don M, “ And what is this maiden’s name ?” 

Toefa (bowing again). “ Maria Deotokos.”* 

Don M. “ Quite right ; and that means Mary, the 
Mother of God. Why do we call her that ?” 

Old Mark did not seem to see what Tadoone could 
mean by the question : and looked up again in his 
face, surprised. 

“You see,” said the priest to me in Spanish, “ the 
question in itself is such a simple one, he thinks there 
must be something more in my asking it than he 
sees ; and so he does not answer.” 

“ Please to make him answer, though, sir,” said I 
to him again, in the same language. 

Don M. (in English.) “ Well, Toefa, who is Ma- 
na the mother of?” 

Toefa. “Maria she O much mother Otooma-Tehe, 
oora, oora, Tadoone.” 

“ There you have it, friend,” says the priest again 
to me in his Spanish ; “ what want you more ? Mary 

* Properly Iheoiokos, the title solemnly given to the 
Blessed Virgin at the Council of Ephesus, a. d. 431, against 
Nestorius, who asserted the existence of two distinct persona 
In our Lord. — ^Ed. 


THB CATHOLIC CBU80B. 


S15 


ifl thj mother of our Lord. lie Is but One Person, 
God and man : all that takes place in His human na- 
ture, being one of His two natures, takes place in the 
Person of God ; she bears Him in her pure bosom, 
therefore she bears her God : quern genuit^ adoravit : 
she is His mother, and so she is most truly the mother 
of God Not to believe this would be disbelieving 
that He is truly both God and man ; but that is the 
essence of the Christian faith : hence, to deny Mary 
to be Mother of God, is to deny the Christian faith.” 

He saw me look unsatisfied still. “ W ell,” says 
he, gaily, “ I will put it to him more closely for a 
moment; and then, no more. John Pounder and 
Samuel, go light the candles in the chapel ; we will 
come in a minute. Now, Toefa, listen. (He here 
began to speak Indian again.) What is it that you 
used to put over your face (you told me) when you 
went into battle, to make yourself look terrible to 
your enemies ?” 

Toefa, “ A mask of red birds’ feathers, father.” 

Don M, “It hid your face, and you were behind 
it?” 

Toefa. “ Yes, indeed.” 

Dan M. “ But ’twas not yourself, all the while ?” 

Toefa (laughing). “ Oh, no, no.” 

Don M. “ Attend, now. Was it in that way that 
God became man ? Did He merely conceal Himself 
behind the nature or appearance of man ?” 

Toefa, “ No, my father; you have taught me. He 
became really, truly man for us.” 

Don M. “ As truly man as you and I ?” 


816 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Toefa. “ Yes, praise and thanks : but all holy 
pure.” 

Don M. “ Was He less God than before, for do 
ing so ?” 

Toefa. “ Perfect God, perfect man, in one Per* 
son.” 

Don M. “ Then, whom did the Blessed Mary 
bear?” 

Toefa. ‘‘Ah, father! are you punishing me for 
some fault ? Why, God, to be sure.” 

Don M. “ That will do. Blow the horn, and 
wake up the sleepers. We are going to prayers.” 

So we went to our prayers : and afterwards we 
heard (for the first time) the Indians singing in their 
part of the cave, by way of practice, a morning hymn 
which Tadoone had composed for them ; for they 
were to sing it, it seems, the first thing next morn- 
ing, which was a festival day. It went to one of 
their wild Indian airs, and had a strange kind of 
pleasing solemn sound about it which took the men 
greatly ; so that we soon caught it, and made it part 
of our morning devotions. Thus it ran : 

Goole majeela a bo tahapai, 

Kowya reea teegaro chee ; 

Taharo elan eroo mata hai, 

Mate ka waia tohooda tahe. 

Shaingala tin laine moaffa, 

Jesus aune ta ha lenehoo ; 

Teema Tadoon’ Eteheti nar’ affa, 

Faida Maria pakulle ta moo. 

The meaning of it is, in English : 

On the tops of our cocoa palms when first a light shinei, 

Let us arise to adore Him that sustained us (in jife) ; 


THl OATHOLIO ORUSO*. 


S17 


Host pure, most merciful, pleased with obedient children, 
Who on the two trees (». the Cross) showed us His great 
love. 

He, the Redeemer, speaking (pleading, appealing), claims oui 
hearts ; 

His thrice holy name is Jesus, born and dying ; 

Let us love Him, with the Father and Holy Spirit, 

Next to them also Mary our Mother. 


CHAPTER LHL 

SPBING-TLDE LABOURS. 

Thus employed, we got through the rainy season . 
indeed, the return of fair weather surprised us, so 
much had we to do inside the cave, and so well used 
did we become to close confinement, with cheerful 
labor. At length we issued from our retreat on a 
fresh spring morning, as Noe and his family might 
have stepped out of their ark on to the green earth, 
bathed in the waters of the flood : we smelled the 
flowers and the trees, and plucked the fresh shoots 
and blossoms in our abundance, with the birds sing- 
ing round on every side ; and nature seemed to burst 
forth at once with the vigour of a tropical spring. 
“ And if nature can give such a new sense of life 
and joy,” says Tadoone, “by the mere return of 
spring to the land of our exile, strewing such flowers 
on our pilgrimage path, what will it be to range the 
Paradise of God with the Saints, where the pure. 


818 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

bright atmosphere is charity, when sorrow and sin 
shall have fled for ever ?” 

Among the flrst things we had to do, was to look 
to our farm ; for the violent rains had damaged the 
fences, so that if we had not sent out the Indians 
from time to time to repaii* some gaps in them, our 
tame peccaries would doubtless have escaped to the 
woods. We now made our ring-fence stronger by 
driving in stakes here and there of a kind of supple 
osier, which quickly took root, and shot out a strong, 
tough branch or tendril on all sides : so that, in the 
four years and a quarter we spent in that exile, by 
^acing and weaving them in and in, every spring as 
they shot forth again, we formed a hedge that, for 
strength and thickness, would have puzzled a whole 
herd of peccaries to break through. 

Next, we added to the plantation I spoke of before, 
to conceal the approach to our cave ; we added to the 
number of winding passages, and the decoys, or 
wrong turns, that led each to its pitfall, or else to a 
blind alley so narrow that the enemy, did he get in, 
would scarce have room to turn in it ; but, pushing 
on deeper, would find himself trapped much in the 
way they take to snare wild elephants in India. We 
contrived these with some skill, for we had even too 
great a stock of time, and we laid down a rule for 
ourselves to work a certain while every day, which 
was four hours in the cool weather (more or less, for 
we tied not ourselves exactly to it), and in the heats 
from two to two and a half, early and late. Such, 1 
say, was our engineering craft in the contrivance of 
this maze, that we made the pitfalls be just in a point 


THB OATHOLIO ORI3SOE. 


819 


lhat was overlooked from a thicket right above the 
mouth of our cave : so that one or several of us, con- 
cealed in the thicket, could have poured our arrows 
upon the enemy in his perplexity, and remain unseen 
all the while. 

Later on, too, in our exile (for 1 may as well finish 
about this, once for all), that is, in the third rainy 
season we spent on the island, having then, as I shall 
presently relate, more hands sent to us, whom we 
never invited nor expected, we made our cave still 
bigger : for then we hewed out two more sleeping 
places, besides cutting shelves and cupboards in sev- 
eral of the passages, up and down. At length, the 
whim seized us, we would make us another entrance 
to our cave altogether, to serve us for an approach 
from the western side, or (as the rabbit makes two 
holes to its burrow) give us an escape in case of our 
citadel being stormed by the grand staircase. We 
made a survey how the ground lay above, treading 
up and down the table-land over the cave, or from 
that to westward, to see where the rock dipped nigh- 
est the level of the cave, so as to have the least 
trouble in cutting the passage. At last we found the 
spot where (by our closest reckoning) we had best 
begin : so then, dividing ourselves into gangs, as be- 
foire (but now with more than double the number in 
each gang, as the reader will see in its place), we 
worked steadily every day for the best part of two 
neeks, I am sure, and got down a prodigious way 
bito the rock: further than we thought we should 
Lave to go at all, till we began to fear we were out 
in our reckoning of the depth, or had cut at a wrong 


820 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

angle for the slope. All at once we broke indeed 
into our cave ; but, whereas we hoped to light on a 
passage we had (before this time) partly worked be- 
yond the kitchen, we found, instead, we had broken 
through the roof of our chapel, by its western comer, 
furthest from the altar : and we knew at once where 
we had got to, by hearing the plaster fall inward on 
the floor. Well, the thing being done, there was no 
help for it ; we made us another ladder of trees, with 
rounds of wood bound tight with flax and supple- 
jack, to reach up from the chapel floor to our new 
passage, and so used it from time to time ; but not so 
much as we first thought of doing, and chiefly to 
bring down heavy weights that we could not sling 
up by the other door. 

To go back now from this to our first rainy season : 
of all our manufactures, some fishing nets (we judged) 
would be most useful, as indeed afterwards they 
proved to be. We set about them so soon as we had 
mined outselves fairly into the rock, working at 
them at odd times in the day, and by our fire-light 
every evening. Here, too, the Indians surpassed us 
in their ingenious twisting of the fibres to make the 
nets’ meshes ; so that by degrees we left the work in 
their hands, and particularly in old Mark’s, who was 
less able for the hard work of hewing the rock. He 
told us they were well used in Toonati-nooka to 
make a sort of draw-net, or seine ; with these they 
took large quantities of fish in the gulfs and inlets of 
their island, but mostly in the spring-tide of the year. 
Sometimes they would venture out into the deep sea, 
but then always went in armed canoes, to defend 


THK CATHOLIC CKUSOl. 


321 


themselves from the fishers of Hai-vavaoo, who were 
for ever coming out against them in strong parties, 
to dispute the fishery, and would now and then run 
in like so many pirates, into the bays of Toonati, 
and, after a fierce struggle, carry oflT nets and fish 
together. 

It seemed that these fisheries were the cause, or 
pretence, of that war that was almost forever waged 
between the savages of the two islands : though 
Toefa-oloo told us several treaties of peace had been 
made (within his own memory) between them, in the 
most solemn way they knew how. Namely, they 
assemble (said he) the chiefs of both sides, and the 
priests of that side on whose shore the treaty is to be 
made: or they take the priests out in a canoe, if ’tis 
made at sea. Then invoking Paowanga, who is 
reckoned to be the god of war among them (but the 
men of Hai-vavaoo have another idol named Komo- 
arrao, corresponding to him in character, whom they 
invoke on their part), they cut the throat of an ani- 
mal, mostly of a goat, and each party drinks a por- 
tion of the blood, with various other ceremonies. 
Such a treaty they profess to hold very sacred, at 
least, till interest or enmity concur to break it again. 


S22 


THl ADTBNTURES OF OWEN ETaNI. 


CHAPTER LIV. 

SBA AND LAND, 

But to return to our own nets : we made them 
carefully, of twisted cocoa-nut fibres and our sup- 
ple-jack, dried by tbe fire and beaten out like hemp, 
with thread also spun from the cotton-plants, of 
which we found a plantation self-sown, as I have 
related ; and of these we found others later, scat- 
tered here and there in the swampy parts of the 
island, towards the centre of it, or from that to s. 
w. The Indians told us, in their country they 
made the nets stronger and more supple with hairs 
from their enemies’ heads, whom they slew in battle, 
or took prisoners ; for they never spared those whom 
they took, but oflered them all in sacrifice to Pao- 
wanga, first shaving off their hair, or pulling it away 
with the scalp, then dashing out their brains with a 
club. The poor fellows hereupon offered to part with 
the very hair of their heads to make our fish-nets ; 
for they wear it long, never suffering knife or razor 
to touch it afteft* they come of age, but twisting it up 
on the crown of the head with a bone pin. However, 
wo would not suffer them so to despoil themselves ; 
only, hearing them speak of these pins, we asked 
what bones they were made of; and when Tadoone 
heard they were the arm-bones of their enemies, he 
made them untwist these trophies from their heads, 
and buried them with his own hand in the wood near 
our cave, speaking much to Mark and the otheri 


THE OATHOLIO 0RU80E. 


32a 


about that savage custom of theirs, and how repug- 
nant it was to the feeling we should have for the liv- 
ing and the dead. 

I could see they partea with their ornaments with 
a bad grace, and only because Tadoone asked it ; for 
it seems in their country ’tis reckoned a thing dis- 
graceful for any one who has been in war to be seen 
without an arm-bone twisted into his hair, as being 
a sign that he was a coward, and slew no enemies in 
battle. I made up the loss to them, as well as I 
could, by dividing a kerchief of gaudy colours I 
wore round my neck, half to one, and half to the 
other : for as to young Samuel, he had never been in 
battle, so had no right to a bone. But Mark and 
Pounder were much delighted with their new head 
dress, and wore it till the sun and rain so bleached 
the colours you could scarce distinguish them. 

Before the rainy season was over, we had made us 
three good fish-nets, of a fairish size ; and when the 
spring had set in, we were visited, about Shark’s 
Cove and the neighbouring shores, by such shoals 
of fish, some of them old acquaintances [as herrings 
and mackerel], others of a strange kind, inhabitants 
of these seas, as put us beyond all fear of falling 
short of Fridays’ fare. We were forced to devise 
methods of smoking and curing on the beach the 
numbers we drew to shore with our long net, or 
seine, and another which we threw in the manner of 
a cast-net. In this we succeeded passably well, af- 
ter some experiments and failures : our Indians prov- 
ing useful here, too, by pointing out one or two kinds 


S24 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

of fish that were poisonous, or, at the best, unwhole- 
some. 

At one time, we thought of making a weir, or pre- 
serve for our fish, as we had made a farm-yard for 
our four-footed stock on land ; we might have done 
it well enough, by triving stakes across a part of our 
inlet, in Shark’s Cove, at low-water, keeping them 
high enough above high-water mark to hinder the fish 
floating back with the tide ; and weaving bamboos or 
cordage in and out, to form a wattle under water, free 
en))ugh for the tide to ebb through, but not the fish. 
We gave up that idea, however, partly because, in the 
fresh water conduit, and other works then engaging 
us, we had (as the saying is) “ other fish to fry” ; but 
mostly because the abundance of these shoals was 
such as supplied us for a long time together. The 
smaller fry were followed into the cove by large fish 
that came to prey on them ; as bonitos, manchorans, 
albicores, dog-fish, and a kind of dolphin, besides 
some 'of our old enemies, the sharks, such of them as 
were able to thread their way through the inlet in 
the reef. We managed to spear several, or shoot 
them with arrows [all but the sharks, whose hide is 
too strong for such spears as we had, and we would 
not waste powder on them] : then, waiting till the 
tide ebbed, or throwing round them a coil of our 
native rope, we got them ashore for their oil and 
bones, as well as meat. 

Others we pierced with arrows, but especially with 
spears, having a biggish piece of bark or light wood 
attached to them by a strong twine, to act as a buoy, 
and prevent the fish getting away : by all these arts 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


325 


we captured no less than nine or ten large fish that 
were tolerable eating, and might have had as many 
dozens for the taking, only we grew lazy from their 
very abundance ; besides that we had no means to 
salt down such a quantity, and did not care to keep 
tnem dried and tough, as they would have been. 

But I have left out one employment in which Don 
Manuel especially engaged, and kept to himself; 
’t was not much in the way of labour, but more by 
its importance to us. I mean, the sowing of our two 
or three chance grains of wheat in a little nook of 
earth lying open to the south, which Tadoone care- 
fully dug, and manured with some of the refuse of 
our fish, together with leaves and burnt sea weed. 
To speak exactly, there were but three grains in all ; 
one that stuck in my knife, as I have said, and two 
more I found later in my pocket. He claimed these 
as his portion of our goods ; promising us in return, 
if all went well, he would give us a good quartern 
loaf in a couple of years’ time, besides supplying 
himself with what he needed for the altar, if altar he 
ever came by. We could not but smile at the prom- 
ise of a loaf two years to come ; but freely yielded 
up the grains to him : what he did with them was 
this : — 

Having prepared the ground with care, then making 
a little hole in the soil with a stick, he dropped one 
of the grains into it : then again, perhaps six inches 
from this, a second hole, and dropped another grain ; 
and the third, at a like distance. This, he explained 
to us, he had read in some old Latin book of agri- 
culture, was the surest way of having an abundant 


826 


TH* ADYBNTUBES OF OWEN EViNi, 


com-crop ; as well, because the grains, thus planted 
apart, are not in each other’s way for drawing 
moisture and fatness from the soil, as because this 
careful mode of .putting them into the ground saves 
the waste of grain that takes place in throwing them 
Droad-cast into furrows. 

True enough, the experiment prospered in his 
hands : for the blade shot up, tall and strong, bearing 
such ears as I have seldom seen in wheat, before or 
since. Then he chose out of these the largest grains, 
and such as were most likely-looking, for his next 
year’s crop, and sowed them in the same manner, 
some inches apart from one another ; by which means, 
his second harvest came up stronger, with a larger 
yield than the first, even. After that, indeed, as I 
shall show at another stroke of my pen, a wonderful 
turn of events made him a less regular farmer than 
before, and changed the whole current of our life in 
banishment. 


CHAPTER LV. 

PKEPABING FOR A CHANGE. 

Having no mind to trouble the reader with why 
and wherefore I determined finally to embrace the 
Catholic faith, I will say little more than tliis (to 
vindicate myself and the friend that became the in- 
strument to me of so great a good,) I did nothing in 
Bor rashly. For to make so vital a change 


THE CATHOLIC CRC80B. 


827 


without due reflection, said Don Manuel a change to 
He made once for all, and involving an eternity, 
would be wrong and perilous to the last degree ; and, 
he added, ’t were an insult to the majesty of truth 
not to give it calm and deep reflection. No man, 
said he, as gifted with the faculty of reason, would 
indertake a much less concern without pondering it 
as well in its motives as consequences ; or would have 
himself to thank for failure and disappointment. 

1 resolved, then to try every step, and keep the 
lead-line going, as the master of a vessel is bound to 
do in an unknown sea ; nor can I no w be grateful 
enough for this, inasmuch as it made my way secure, 
and hath delivered me from all doubtfulness ever 
since. 

The priest (undying thanks to him for it) put the 
matter before me in so plain a light as, while it ap- 
pealed to my reason, demanded my faith beside, 
h'or he bade me remark, the very notion of religion 
was a message from God to man, revealing His na- 
ture and will ; that it must be received (when made 
plam), not discussed, as being that whereof we are 
to be disciples, not judges nor critics. This revela- 
tion, he said, because ’t is the message of the Infinite 
Being to us poor narrow souls, must contain myste- 
rious truths, whose depths we cannot fathom, though 
W8 are enabled to accept them by faith. That ’t is 
enough for us, and ample, if we are assured (by any 
authority on earth that can show itself to be His ap- 
pomtment and creation), such and such articles of 
teaching are Ilis message ; then our duty is, cordially 
io believe them ; to fail in which, is failing in the 


828 THE ADVENTURES 01 OWEN EVANS, 

first duty of the creature, and so brings the erring 
soul into a state of perdition. 

God, he said, is essentially the God of truth as 
well as of holiness ; wherefore. He demands from us 
belief in His truth, and all of it, no less than obedi- 
ence to every part of His holy law. That, if we 
must distinguish between these two (though they 
were, indeed, as man and wife, whom God hath 
united), there was a precedence and prior claim to be 
noted ; that faith came before obedience, as its motive, 
for “without faith it is impossible to please God” ; 
though obedience must follow faith, as its result, be- 
cause “ faith without works is dead.” 

Then he went to show that Almighty God, who 
was pleased at first to proclaim the truth of His gospel 
by many miracles, wrought by Himself and His 
apostles, was pleased, before He visibly left the earth, 
to set up in it a great standing sign or miracle, which 
He made perpetual, and promised should be so : and 
that sign was to be ever fresh and ever at hand, 
while most other miracles were shown but from time 
to time ; and ’t was to be in every quarter of the 
world at once, while others were local and limited ; 
and ’t was not only to stand ever for proof of the 
gospel, but to instruct and console them that believed 
already ; to cleanse and restore them if they unhap- 
pily sinned ; to strengthen and feed them while they 
were in grace ; to keep them in union with God, and 
be the means of conducting them to heaven. 

And this great sign, says he, is “ the Church of the 
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth : ” “a 
eity set on a hill,” visible to such as do not wilfully 


tH* CATHOLIC CRUSO*. 


32d 


close their eyes against it ; “ a straight way,” whereon 
the simplest, if only they follow it trustfully, cannot 
go wrong, nor stumble. He proceeded to say, that 
the true Church is known from all others that pretend 
to her title, by four great marks, that are recited as 
such even by many who do not belong to her, when 
they say their creed ; that she is One, Holy, Catholic- 
Apostolic : that a plain observation of facts assigns 
these four marks to the Church in union with the See 
of St. Peter, and to her alone : that all this was matter 
of promise at the first, when our Lord said : “ Thou 
art Peter, and on this rock (Peter) I will build my 
Church” ; and has been fulfilled in the Hist >ry of 
seventeen hundred years, and will be, to the end of 
time. 

This being so plain, says he, every man is inexcus- 
able, who having the truth sufficiently set before him, 
does not embrace it : to behave thus is a grave offence 
against God, who reveals His truth, commanding it 
to be received and will be punished with an eternal 
doom: but they who accept it, obtain therewith 
abundant graces to their souls, through sacraments, 
the channels made by Himself, enabling them to obey 
the rest of the Divine will ; whereby they can merit 
an increase of it from degree to degree, till they gain 
everlasting glory. 

This is a sketch of our conversations together. 

What chiefly surprised me in them all, was the 
stress the priest laid on my making the utmost use 
of my reason in this inquiry, until I received the gift 
of faith. For I supposed he would have required me 
to surrender my reason, and believe all I might be 


380 THE ADTENTURES Of OWEH ETAE*, 

told, whether unreasonable or no : having a heap of 
things put down my throat, and bidden to swallow 
them without inquiry. Whereas, here was a priest, 
and (as I found by degrees) a monk, too, biddmg me 
inquire, reason, and test what he said, until grace 
was given me to believe. On my telling hix my 
surprise to find this, he only smiled, and asked me, 
was it possible that faith and reason could be op- 
posed ? I answered, it seemed so, inasmuch as a vast 
number of men, who professed to go by reason, were 
thereby led away from faith. To which he said 
again, they neither know what was meant by sound 
reason, nor by true faith. For, says he, as both 
come from God, who is “ not the God of dissension,” 
one of His gifts can never go against another. 

“ How is it, then, sir,” I urged, ‘‘ so many things 
are taught in your Church, as miracles, transubstan- 
tiation, and the rest, which contradict the evidence 
of our senses ?” “ Contradict, my dear friend ?” says 
he, looking pleasantly at me ; “ there can be no con- 
tradiction between two things, when one simplv goes 
beyond the other.” “ Why, sir,” said T again, “ do 
Tou tell me there is no contradiction in saying that 
bread and wine are so much more than bread and 
wine as the Catholic Church bids her members be- 
lieve ?” “ Certainly,” answers he very gravely, “ it 
would be a contradiction to say anything is what it 
is not, or more than it is. But tell me : can the senses 
ludge of anything that lies beyond themselves ? Or 
can one sense judge of what is only subject to another 
sense ? Did you ever hear a colour or see a smell ?” 

I could not but smile at his questions , which, when 


THl CATHOLIC 0RU8O1, 


831 


he saw : “ Well,” pursued he, “ as to that great mys- 
tery you have touched on, your senses can be no 
judges of the change of substance into substance, be- 
cause they can only report as to the outward appear- 
ances^ which remain as they were before. You might 
just as well expect the sentinel who stands outside 
the king’s palace to know what transactions are going 
on in the audience- chamber or cabinet, where the king 
himself is withm, removed from sight. But observe ; 
as the eye is created to tell the soul many things 
great and glorious which the ear cannot perceive, so 
faith is given to tell the soul glorious mysteries which 
* eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en- 
tered into the heart of man.* ” So he went on. 


CHAPTER LVL 

OTHER EEASONS. 

But two chief reasons determined me beside : one, 
the consistent Christian example of this my good 
friend, whose conduct I had hourly opportunities to 
mark, nor ever found a thing in it that did not tally 
with his own teaching. So that it became impossible 
for me to think so true a disciple and good liver, one 
BO cheerfully holy, humble, prayerful, self-denying, 
charitable, and the rest, practising virtue from day 
to day, could be much in the wrong. The second 
reason was, I felt my soul to need such confession of 
iins as I knew to be practised in his Church. 


t82 THl ADTSNTUSES OF OWSN fiTANg| 

Removed as we were from the world, spending 
much time alone, ’twould not have been in mortal 
man to prevent his thoughts turning inward on him- 
self and backward on his life. Our consciences be- 
came first awakened, then tender : so that we recalled 
our past sins, which we had utterly forgotten, and 
gone on as unheeding as if we were guiltless of them ; 
I say, recalling these, they appeared to us quite in 
another light than before, as heinous offences against 
the Divine law, though perchance not crimes in the 
eyes of our fellow-men. Strange, indeed, how old 
sins of many years past would start out before me, 
from some hidden rock in my memory; so that at 
last, numbering how oft I had sinned against my own 
conscience, dark as it was, and how little I had culti- 
vated grace by prayer, to preserve me from my evil 
self, I began to see my life had been almost one con- 
tinued sin. 

Nor could I find comfort in this distress of mind 
from general promises of pardon made to man on his 
true repentance : feeling somewhat to be needed be- 
side, to apply those generals to my particular case. 
I would fain hear a voice say to me, myself, “ Neither 
do I condemn thee : go, and sin no more.” “ Thy 
sins are forgiven thee ; depart in peace.” Propound- 
ing this difficulty to my friend, he then showed me 
the God of Mercy had vouchsafed to meet this my 
need, founding a succession of priests for the express 
end (among others) of assuring his pardon to the pen- 
itent. 

“ But ’tis impossible,” says he, “without an evi- 
dent miracle, the priest should be able to pronounce 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


33^ 


pardon where he knows not the offence, nor the dis- 
positions of the offender. Nor can he apply the 
remedies best suited to each several case, nor give ad 
vice to serve the soul of his penitent, unless the state 
of that soul, its deeds, habits, failings, weak points, 
temptations, and so forth, be submitted to him. The 
priest who hears a man’s confession is a judge com- 
missioned to that office by the Supreme Judge of all: 
now, when any one is brought before a judge, there 
is evidence produced and sifted narrowly, and the 
cause determined on it, lest the guilty escape, or the 
innocent be cast. Again, the priest is a physician for 
the soul ; and what physician in his right senses ever 
prescribed for his patient without first hearing from 
him the symptoms of his disorder ?” 

So he went on, with much more of the same kind, 
which, if I could recall precisely, ’twould be useful to 
set it down. But at the time, what it did for me 
was, it persuaded me (after much reflection) to close 
"with such a merciful offer. Whence it came to pass, 
about three weeks after he and I had talked this over, 
I then first received from him a conditional baptism, 
on a supposition of my never having been baptized 
before : “for baptism with you,” says he, “ is given 
(I fear) with so little of the care that befits a sacra- 
ment needful to salvation, as to make it more than 
doubtful whether ’tis given at alL” Then, this be- 
ing secured, I made to our charitable and patient Ta- 
doone a full, exact confession of my life, so far as I 
could recall anything that looked like a sin. And it 
is not for me to set down on paper the peace that 
took possession of my heart when I knew myself 


834 THE ADTBNTURBS OF OWBN SVANS, 

ccnciled to God, whom my sins had offended. Noi 
can I describe how truly I purposed to serve Him for 
the remainder of my days. 

But what is good for one is good for another, in 
what concerns all ; so the men, partly taking exam- 
ple by me, seeing ’twas not so strange a thing to be- 
come a Catholic, after all ; partly by the simple 
goodness of our poor Indians, whom Tadoone had 
made Catholics already ; and partly also by the rea 
sons he showed them for it, determined one and all 
to do likewise. Not that all did it together, but in 
the following order ; 

First (strange enough it seemed to me) came Rich- 
ard Prodgers, and was made into a good Catholic, 
and a happy one, in less than a week after myself. 
Then Ned Hilton ; and after him. Gill, w'hose parents, 
it seems, inherited the farm they occupied in Kent 
from the days of the Commonwealth, and traced up 
their ancestors to some of Cromwell’s followers, 
whom he had enriched with that freehold : so that 
Harry, careless sailor as he was, derived a smack of 
the Puritan, leastwise, in the respect of prejudice, 
that made him hard to convince of the Catholic doc- 
trine. However, he came in at last, though ’twas a 
good month or so after Ned, and Ned was some short 
time after me. But Don Manuel was not the man to 
hurry any one, and never showed more patience than 
when he reasoned with Gill, and won him by slow 
degrees. 

It may seem strange that Tom Hars^ey, who was 
the best conditioned of them all at first, was the very 
last to enter the Church : but such was the^fact, let 


THl OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


335 


any one explain it as he may. I once asked Tadoone 
whether ’twas a secret pride that still kept Tom from 
submitting ; but he would not hear of such a reason 
which (he said) had too little charity about it ; that 
God’s ways are not our ways, nor His times curs ; 
that Harvey’s turn would come yet : — and so it did. 


CHAPTER LVIL 

SPIRITUAL MASS. 

I SATO, a while ago, our chapel served us for an- 
other end besides daily prayers and weekly sermons. 
Having said that much, ’twould be leaving my 
reader in the dark not to explain it ; at least, if 1 
should get any readers at all : though that is the very 
thing I am growing doubtful of. For a friend ol 
mine, a bookseller in Paternoster Row, on my carry- 
ing these papers to him, when I had written out about 
a third of my rough notes, discouraged me all he 
could from going on : telling me the public would 
never be caught with such chaff, nor take up with a 
dull matter of fact like this ; and I stood a better 
chance with some cut-throat tale, full of murder and 
gunpowder, hair-breadth ’scapes, or the burning of 
one or two people alive. But I told him then, what 
I now pUw down, I was as little fitted to be a ro- 
mancer as a stage-player, or any other kind of moun- 
tebank : and if folks who read books were not content 
with what befel a plain man and his companions, in 


S36 THB ADTENTURKS OF OWEN ETANS, 

an out of the way place and a strange exile of more 
than four years, they might e’en let it he, and no 
harm was done, except the printer’s bills to be charged 
on my executors. 

Indeed, I might (no doubt) have touched up my 
story, or dashed in some strong colours, like scene- 
painters, who will daub for effect at a distance : but 
where, then, would have been the sober truth of my 
narrative ? Or [had I the wit to do it, which hap- 
pily I lack] I might have given a freer rein to my 
thoughts, in some such pieces as an acquaintance of 
mine was bringing out in London before I quitted 
England, who, after wasting his talents on such tri- 
fles, went over to Lisbon in shattered health, and has 
gone further even than Lisbon to give in an account 
of all his writings. But I, that can admire genius at 
a distance, would not change places in the next 
world, no, nor in this, wdth him who ever wrote one 
deliberate word that might lead a fellow mortal to a 
sin, be it of thought only. 

Here I am straying again from my own paddock 
through the first gap in the hedge ; so I come back 
from my friend, the bookseller in Paternoster Row, 
to our chapel in Assumption Isle. I have all along 
forgotten to say w^e called the place of our exile so, 
from the great festival that had just passed when we 
discovered it : and long after we had our joke against 
old Prodgers, who had put aside any Christian name 
for it, preferring to call it No Man's Land. 

Well, ’twas Spiritual Mass we used our little 
chapel for, every morning, as a thing of course. And 
Don Manuel explained what we were going to do, 


THB OATHOLIO ORTISOS. 837 

the first time he proposed it, much after this fash- 
ion: 

“You remember, dear friends and children of 
mine,” says he, “ how you thought me mad, or next 
door to it, for being so affected when we found a 
grain of wheat : and I told you, at the time, ’twas 
because the sight of that little grain seemed to bring 
me one step nearer to my great desire, the celebra- 
ting of holy Mass. That desire we cannot realize in 
act, from want of other things absolutely needed for 
it ; but we may still cherish it as a desire, and turn 
that desire into devotion. You know, even in man’s 
dealings with his fellow-man, the will is often ac- 
cepted for the deed. Many is the time we testify 
that we vmdd do this or that act of kindness or ser- 
vice if we cxmld : and our neighbour holds himself 
equally obliged to us, as if we had done it. Much 
more does the Searcher of Hearts look into the hid- 
den desires of our souls, and accepts or rejects us by 
what He sees there. Even as to baptism, a sacra- 
ment absolutely necessary for any one to be saved, 
the earnest desire of it is accepted, where the sacra- 
ment is impossible. So, as I cannot have the com- 
fort of celebrating Mass, we will do all we can in the 
way of desire, and may hope for many blessings in 
answer.” 

He went on to speak of some revelation granted to 
a Saint [I cannot recall the name], that her spiritual 
communions were to her sacramental communions as 
silver to gold; and exhorted us to assist at our 
•piritual Mass with such fervour as to supply [to our 
best] for the want of the divine reality. 


888 


THl AI>Y1NTURK8 Of OWEN ETANB, 


“ Holy Mass, ^ says he, “ is celebrated by the priest, 
and attended by the faithful, for several en Is, as : 

“ To adore Almighty God for what He is in Him- 
self, all His own infinite perfections, joining with the 
blessed angels round His Throne, who are ever cry- 
ing aloud to Him, ‘ Holy, Holy, Holy !’ And, if we 
consider that He is the One mfinite and supreme, 
’twill appear our first duty to accompany the adora- 
ble Sacrifice of Himself, which He hath ordained, by 
such an act of devout homage. 

“ To give Him praise and thanks for all His bless- 
ings to us, for body and soul, which are numberless ; 
also, for His benefits to others, especially those who 
will not praise or thank him for themselves. Also, 
under this head of praise, to adore Him for the graces 
He has bestowed on His saints, from the creation to 
the present hour; and to congratulate the blessed 
Saints themselves on all they have received. 

“ To commemorate the sufierings and death of our 
Lord J esus Christ, whereof Mass is so lively a repre- 
sentative, as well as a continuance and daily applica- 
tion of the same Sacrifice. 

“ To avert His anger from ourselves and all other 
sinners, by a humble acknowledgment of our of- 
fences, and deep unworthiness. 

“ To beseech Him to pour upon ourselves, and all 
for whom we are bound to pray, all the blessings 
needful for us : this large intention including both 
supplication and intercession ; as to ourselves, it in- 
cluded all we could need, for body and soul, for time 
and eternity: as to others, it embraced Catholics on 
earth and in purgatory, as well as heretics, sinners. 


THE CATHOLIC CEUSOE. 


339 


sufferers, the heathen, in a word, all God’s rational 
creatures who were not in heaven nor in hell: prayer 
for the first being needless, and for the latter of no 
avail.” 


Methinks I have now given as large an account as 
need be (and perhaps too lengthy) of that spell of 
twenty months, or thereabout, of our life on the 
island, while we lived by ourselves, without the in- 
crease to our society which I am just going to record. 
Our farmyard throve, and our crops fiourished passa- 
bly well during this time; but afterwards, the great 
heat of our second summer, that was like a fierce oven, 
burnt up some of our young plantains and bananas, 
so that they withered and came to naught. ’Twas, 
indeed, through our unskilfulness in the choice of a 
place for them, the spot being too exposed to the sun 
for tender plants; but we remembered this the fol- 
lowing season, choosing a small savannah, partly 
shaded by the same ridge of sandy cliff that rose up 
into the bluff, or headland, where we dug our cave; 
and partly by a grove of cocoa-palms on the other 
side. This lay a quarter of a mile from the sun -burnt 
spot where we failed before, and was washed by the 
stream that came from Riverhead, so that we could 
water our new nursery-ground by hand. 

As for our peccaries, too, a kind of murrain seized 
on them, so that we lost half our stock within ten 
days, and the rest were saved chiefiy by the care of 
Ned Hilton, whose father, it seems, was a small 
farmer in the county of Huntingdon, where Ned had 
become learned in pigs. But Don Manuel’s wheat 


840 THE ADyBIVTURlS OT OWEN BTAN8, 

crop seemed to have some particular blessing show 
ered on it from the first ; or else from his choosing a 
spot sheltered and moistened by a little ledge of rock 
from the great heats, it throve better than our essays 
in faiming. I am ready to think, ^twasboth of those 
causes together: for on one hand, he was a kind oi 
man that undertook nothing, but first he looked far 
onward, and weighed all he was to do ; on the other, 
I am sure he sowed this crop in tears of deep desire, 
and trusted to reap it in spiritual joy. 

With regard to our souls, that he had been the 
means of saving, ’tis not for me to turn trumpeter to 
our little company : only I will say, if our regular 
habit of confessing may be taken as an index, we 
scarce ever missed going to Tadoone once in the 
week ; generally on Fridays, to honor the Sacred Pas- 
sion we had formerly so neglected to think on, and 
done so much to dishonour. The effect of this, too, 
was clearly seen in the men’s temper and disposi- 
tions ; as for myself, I say little, only that I ought to 
have advanced more in goodness, as my sense of what 
is meant was perhaps clearer. But amongst us now, 
such outbreaks of passion as the men had given way 
to on our first landing, came to be a something un. 
heard of; and, just as the last and most unlikely in & 
race will sometimes get ahead of the rest, so the 
greatest change seemed to be wrought in old Dick 
Prodgers. He had been ’fining down by degrees, 
after our first week on the island ; but when he had 
made his confession, and been baptized under condi- 
tion, he did indeed put on the new man, and surprised 
ns by his meekness and quiet spirit of prayer. I 


THK OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


341 


may say much the same of the rest, some more, some 
less. 

But all this made us desire greatly to be able to 
assist at Mass, and more particularly, to receive the 
Holy Communion, in the nature and effects of which 
Don Manuel instructed us. He bade us pray that 
our “ hunger and thirst after justice” might be in- 
creased yet more, and then satisfied; and he ex- 
horted us to make our spiritual communions with 
such fervour as might in some degree supply for our 
great deprivation in not being able to receive the 
Most Holy. We learned from him to unite our in- 
tentions with those of every priest offering Mass, and 
all the faithful attending it, on whatsoever spot of 
earth assembled. 

Thus time slipped by, leaving us content in spite 
of our cruel banishment, and in many ways we might 
be called happy ; lords of all we saw round us, our 
dominions only bounded by the ocean, at peace 
among ourselves, and little fearing enemies from 
without, though prepared to receive them. All this, 
1 say, till a strange thing befell us on the seventeenth 
of April, the year of Redemption 1741. 


842 


THl ADTSNTUKB8 OV OWBN ETANI, 


CHAPTER LVIIL 

THK SPANISH ABMADA. 

Wb were startled, of a sudden, on the day I have 
just named, by the firing of a gun far out at sea ; the 
sound seemed to come to us from s.s.w., or there- 
away : but so dull and faint we hardly thought it a 
gun, till we heard the second ; and listening with 
eager ears, taken aback by the surprise, within a few 
minutes there came a third report. Then we knew 
it for a vessel firing guns of distress ; but what help 
to bring her we saw not, only we thought to inform 
her crew there were some at hand, though not able, 
yet willing to help them. So we clambered to the 
top of our rock, and thence to Look-out Point, in 
great agitation of spirits ; we had, by this, well-nigh 
resigned ourselves to live and die on the island, and 
so sudden a prospect of some European ship brought 
a conflict of emotions to us, part of hope, part of ap- 
prehension. For we knew not if we were to en- 
counter friends or foes; nor of what nation she might 
prove, nor of what disposition toward us. One thing 
we determined on ; to reconnoitre with great pru- 
dence before we made any sign in return for their 
guns. 

My perspective glass served us well here; by 
which I made out the hull of a large vessel, some 
three leagues away in the wind’s eye ; she seemed to 
carry little sail, which surprised us, till the tide, or 
current, favoured her helm, and brought her in 


TH« OATHOLIO ORUgOS. 


843 


nearer ; for ’twas plain she saw our island, and was 
making for it. But when she neared (which was 
very slowly), we saw clearly enough what made her 
so short of sail : for her main-mast was gone by the 
board ; also her foremast had but a mean kind of 
jury topmast rigged, and the mizen (for she was a 
three-master, though seemingly not a first-rate) was 
reduced to a stump, and carried a mere rag of a sail. 
Also, by her hull being so low down in the water, as 
well as the slowness of her sailing (though she was 
well in the current, which, I have said, set in towards 
the island from south by south-west) ; from all these 
signs we plainly made out she was water-logged to 
that degree she could scarce hope to reach land at 
last. 

This was confirmed when we saw her boats low- 
ired, and the crew stowing themselves into them : 
they had three, a long boat, a pinnace, and shallop, 
but ’twas some time before they put oflT from the ship : 
for what cause we could not at first discover, but 
judged they were landing provisions, or perhaps 
merchandise, for they lowered into the boats what 
seemed (at that distance) to be eight or nine large 
bales, or packages, and laid them lengthways. But 
as they drew nearer, we made out these to be sick 
men in their hammocks, lying in the bottom of the 
boats, and so much in the way of the oarsmen as ad- 
ded to their difficulties very much. 

Indeed, the whole look of this crew, when we could 
distinguish their features, was as if a hospital had 
shipped itself on board of a ship ; for a more meagre, 
■tarved-looking set I never set eyes on : and they had 


344 THl ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

scarce strength left among them to pull in the boats 
towards land. So that ’twas chiefly through favour 
of the current (which ran swifter when it came to 
near Cape Look-out, and turned with an eddy, or in- 
draught, into Shark Cove), chiefly by this they man- 
aged to make any way at all ; for they had no more 
to do, but by their oars and helm to keep the boats’ 
heads fair with the stream, and catch what little wind 
was abaft. 

This stream, though, took a swift turn when it 
came within a quarter of a mile of the point (our 
cape, I mean ;) and shot up to n.n.e., so bearing them 
towards the cove : when they found this, fearing (I 
believe) they might be carried off" land again, not 
liking to trust the stream, or else wearied with row- 
ing, they made all efforts to shoot out of the ripple 
of the current into smooth water, under lee of the 
shore, and so land in another little cove, that was 
almost land-locked, n.e. of Cape Look-out. Though 
the stream carried them some way beyond that point, 
they got out of the strength of it ; and doubling back, 
rowed in, but feebly enough, till they lay on their 
oars within arrow-shot of the shore, debating how 
they were to proceed. 

Now was our time : for we did not mean them to 
come nearer without holding them to parley ; the 
more so, as we now saw they had arms with them. 
So, retreating frrtm our ambush, we came back to 
our castle with all speed, then went down by our 
grand stair-case (as we called the rope) and made 
our way straight towards the cove. Then, still am- 
bushed in the trees, we sent Don Manuel forward ai 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


845 


our spokesman, or ambassador, with full powers to 
treat with them. We crept as near as we could, 
UNutkout showing ourselves, to witness what passed, 
and support him on the instant, in case of need for 
we had brought all our weapons with us, and mus- 
tered all our troops. 

The priest went forward, till he came down near 
to the water’s edge ; then stood still, and waved his 
hand, as about to speak. But it would have touched 
any heart to witness the joy of the poor famished 
creatures when they saw the form of a civilized man 
approach near to them. Some of the crew stood 
up in the boats, waving their hats ; some clapped 
their hands ; others fell on their knees, raising their 
clasped hands to heaven ; all cried out, some one 
thing, some another, with such confused sounds of 
prayer, and surprise, and joyfulness, we could not at 
first make out what language ’t was they spoke in. 
But Don Manuel, having a quicker ear for his native 
tongue, knew it from the first for Spanish. 

One would have thought this was like to give him 
great satisfaction; but he told us afterwards, the 
doubt came at once into his mind, they might be a 
crew of buccaneers,* and their ship a pirate vessel, 

* This seems a strange inaccuracy, considering that the 
buccaneers, strictly so-called, were scarcely heard of after 
the taking of Carthagena, some forty years before this date. 
Moreover, as that remarkable society of pirates was chiefly 
composed of French and English adventures, whose opera- 
tions were directed against the Spanish colonies, they would 
scarcely have spoken Spanish on a sudden emotion, in pre- 
ference to their native tongue. Perhaps the word buccaneer 
is here used for a pirate in general ; or it may be a mistake 
of Owen’s for privcUeer . — Ed. 


846 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

fitted out for such, or run away with in a mutiny. 
’Tis true, their action of rendering thanks to God 
seemed to stamp them as honest men ; though indeed, 
I have heard that the very buccaneers, with a kind 
of impious piety strange to think on, would invoke 
the divine protection on their marauding expeditions, 
and render solemn thanks on every success. 

Being still doubtful of these new acquaintances, 
Don Manuel calls out to them in his own language, 
bidding them come in no nearer, but tell him truly 
what nation they were of, and whether honest men. 
On which they all cried, as with one voice, Espanoles, 
Espanoles! and asked him, was he indeed a Catholic 
priest ? He, on his part, assented ; then they protested 
vehemently, they were good Catholics too, and sub- 
jects of his most Catholic majesty (so, it seems, the 
king of Spain is always entitled ;) and that ’twas but 
three short days since they committed to the deep 
their chaplain and confessor, who died on board of 
famine, or fever, or both, like the rest of the crew, 
except only themselves. 

On this, he asked them, would they solemnly swear, 
as good Catholics, to submit themselves to the 
authorities on the island ? Would they engage to 
lay aside their arms, or deliver them into safe keep- 
ing, during their stay ? And, if they were compelled 
to stay indeed (as the condition of the ship rendered 
likely), would they enter into such fair conditions as 
should be laid down for them by those who had 
possession of the place ? To all this, with one voice, 
the poor fellows professed they were ready to swear 
on the spot. Then Don Manuel opened his breviary 


TH* CATHOLIC CBUSOB. 


347 


md held it up before them, pointing, as he explained to 
them, to the words of the holy gospel in it, and bade 
them swear to every tittle of what he had said. 

They rose up, or all that were able to stand, un- 
covered their heads, and with much gravity and rev- 
erent demeanour, stretched forth their hands towards 
the book he held up to them. Even the sick men in 
hammocks, when they heard what was going forward, 
did what they could to raise their hands with the 
rest. Having all sworn to observe these articles, Don 
Manuel then pledged his word as a priest, on behalf 
of himself and his friends, who, he told them, had 
possession of the place, they should meet all fair and 
honourable usage, and be received on their parole of 
good conduct, as well as have their sick tended with 
care. “ But first,” says he, “ for a pledge you mean 
as you say, deliver up to me the fiints out of your 
muskets.” On which, they set to work without a 
question, and hammered out all the flints from their 
pieces, and also from the pistols, of which each man 
had two or three. They wrapped these in a parcel 
of sail cloth, and held them up to him , in token they 
were now unarmed ; for indeed, all they had left to 
them were a few boat-hooks, and two or three hatch- 
ets, with their cutlasses, and these too they delivered 
mp on landing. 


548 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN BYANi. 


CHAPTER LIX 

HARBOUR AND HOSPITAL. 

Having thus drawn (as the old fable says) th« 
lion’s teeth and claws, Don Manuel went on : “ I will 
now show you, friends,” says he, “ we had the pow er 
to enforce submission, had we chosen to use it and 
with that he looks back to us in the wood, and waves 
his hand. Out we marched at the signal (for we had 
agreed on it), with our guns shouldered, our bows, 
and quivers filled with arrows, at our backs; or 
those that had no guns, with bows and long javelins: 
ranging ourselves in a half moon along the strand 
of the cove, four of us on either side of our ambassa- 
dor. What with our wild, shaggy looks, dressed as 
we were, or disguised, rather, in our untanned hog- 
skins and palm-leaf helmets or hats, with formidable 
broad swords and wooden clubs set with sharks’ 
teeth, untrimmed hair and beards, thus fully armed, 
and attended by our Indians, as wild as ourselves ; 
notwithstanding the fewness of our number, these 
poor fellows in the boats, reduced to the last stage 
of weakness, were struck with amazement on so sud- 
den a spectacle. But Don Manuel assured them once 
more, by words and signs, telling them the bargain 
was struck ; if they would be true to their part, so 
would we to ours ; and to this he pledged again his 
word as a priest. 

It being thus arranged, we made them motions of 
fiiendship ; and I, who was the only one, except our 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


S49 


priest, that spoke their language (or anything to sig- 
nify), called out to them, we would truly befriend 
them in their need, if only their conduct justified it ; 
and bade them pull in-shore. This they did at once ; 
and when the boat grounded, the poor fellows made 
shift to get out of her, but feebly and slow ; and 
’twas with still more pains they got the sick on 
shore, Harry Gill and I stood to our arms; and 
Pounder, with Samuel, kept their bows ready : as to 
the rest, they went cheerfully to help at the landing, 
piling their arms under cover of our guns. 

The first thing we insisted on was, that all the 
crews’ weapons, whether muskets, pistols, cutlasses, 
hatchets, and even to the boat-hooks, should be 
handed to us out of the boats; which was done ac- 
cordingly, before a man of them put his foot on dry 
ground. For, though we would not mistrust them, 
nor judge them hardly, we did not forget, either, the 
better part of valour is discretion : and, let them be 
as weak as they might singly, yet they so greatly 
outnumbered us, as might tempt them, at some fa- 
vourable moment, to overpower us also. Being now 
quite unarmed, against a set of men armed to the 
very teeth (for we put the flints into their guns and 
pistols again, and stuck their hatchets and cutlasses 
into our belts, as hostages for their conduct), it would 
have been stark madness iu them to move a finger 
Against us. Indeed, I was surprised from the first 
to see the unshaken trust these poor men showed in 
our honesty ; till a second thought told me they took 
our character on the word of the priest, who (they 
knew) would not deceive them. On our part, we 


350 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

were slower to be convinced of theirs, and stood 
jealously on our guard, till all suspicion of them wore 
off by degrees. 

But the next thing to do was to land the sick men 
that lay in the boats ; who were nine in all, and some 
of them so far gone as to be already more dead than 
alive. One, indeed, seemed so spent we thought he 
would yield up the ghost before we could heave him 
ashore : and Don Manuel, who had waded into the 
water to visit them (not waiting for the boats to be 
thrust nigher the beach), finding this poor man in 
such extremity, called to Samuel to run for a shad- 
dock, to refresh him withal. I could see, from his 
sitting on the boat’s thwart close by the hammock 
where the poor fellow lay, and putting his ear close 
to him, he had begun to hear the dying man’s con- 
fession. Soon the young Indian came running back 
with a fresh fruit or two, a bag of our bread, and a 
crock of water. He plunged into the sea to get at 
the boat, and between them they tried to make the 
Spaniard swallow a bit, thongh never so small ; but 
’twas all too late. What with scurvy and famine, 
and pining every way, he was now too far gone on 
his last journey, and could hardly swallow some 
drops of the water only. In short, after a few faint 
whispers with the priest, he died under his hands, 
blessing the divine mercies with his last breath (so 
we learnt afterwards from the others that lay round) 
for sending to him thus the comforts of his religion 
in his dying hour, beyond all human hope. 

So, leaving the dead man for awhile, to wait on 
the extreme needs of the living, we handed the ham- 


THB CATHOLIC CRU80B. 


851 


mocks out carefully, one by one, and laid these suf- 
fering creatures in a row, eight of them, under the 
shade of some cocoa-palms, about a stone’s cast from 
the beach. Indeed, several of the number seemed as 
near death’s door as the one that was gone already ; 
the priest and I attended them as best we might, 
each in our way ; though my choicest remedies were 
only cocoa-nut milk, with sliced shaddock and yams, 
yet we brought them round enough for Don Manuel 
to wish to be left alone with them for their confes- 
sions; and, to be short, the second of them died 
within two hours after his landing, and the third that 
same night. As for the rest, those other two of the 
five worst, recovered ; one wholly, and lived to be 
a strong, serviceable member of our little govern- 
ment ; the other lived for some time after, and then 
went off in a dropsy. The four who were not so far 
spent with weakness at the first, got round quicker, 
one after the other, when they began to taste our 
fresh meat and vegetables ; but by nothing more than 
by the cocoa-nut milk, of which we gave them two 
or three draughts daily. 

To return to their first landing : we found, besides 
these nine in the hammocks, there were thirty-two 
able-bodied seamen, for we counted them as they sat, 
for very weakness, on the shore. To call them able- 
bodied, must be understood by comparison ; they 
were just able, indeed, to lay their hand on an oar ; 
but I doubt whether their whole force united could 
have given a turn to the capstan, or pulled in a ca- 
ble ; and ’tis not to be doubted, had their voyage 
wasted a few days longer, or had they met rough 


I 


852 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


weather on nearing our island, not one of them would 
have landed alive. They were reduced to that ex- 
tremity, two or three swooned outright, and lay for 
dead : I remarked many of them weep like very chil- 
dren, whether in thankfulness for escaping with their 
lives, or from feeling a degree of weakness that is so 
strange a thing to any man reduced to it on a sud- 
den from the vigour of health ; while others dropped 
on their knees, and begged us, per Vamor di Dios^ to 
give them some food. 

Indeed, we should have thought of this ere now ; 
but we were distracted by all we had to attend to : 
what with mounting guard over the living, tending 
the sick and dying, helping the weakest to land, 
keeping the boats in-shore, etc. But by this, I had 
gone through the wards of my hospital, and done 
what I could for the patients ; so, leaving Don Man- 
uel still engaged in his proper work for their benefit, 
I came forward to the crew, my rifle on my shoulder, 
and the rest of us behind me, fully armed. 

“ My friends and gentlemen,” said I, in my best 
Spanish, which, indeed, would not carry me very far 
in the dialogue, “ you shall have food, without doubt, 
for you are our guests, and we bid you welcome. 
But,” I went on, “ we must understand one another 
from the first : we keep your arms safe for you, till 
we are better acquainted j and you make no attempt 
to move from the place we mark out for you to stay 
’in. Otherwise, gentlemen,” for I had learned that 
much of courtesy from our Spanish friend, “ other- 
wise and I tapped my rifle with my forefinger, to 
make them fully know my resolution. 


THl OATHOLIO OBT3SOS. 


358 


Comprehend they did, without doubt ; and made 
signs of assent to all this. But one among them, 
who seemed in authority (we found, a little later, he 
was fourth lieutenant, and the only officer who had 
lived through the starvation, and taken command on 
the death of the others), came a little before the rest, 
and answered in the purest Spanish : “ Your gentle- 
ness,”* says he, “ may rest assured, we will be faith- 
ful to the word we have already sworn to our couu 
tryman, the priest yonder. We are men of honour,” 
laying his hand on his breast, “ and subjects of his 
most Catholic majesty : you are our benefactors ; we 
are bound to you in honour and gratitude, both at 
once. ’Tis true, Senores Ingleses, our countries are 
now at war with one another ; but we trust you will 
not prosecute that war in such remote regions as 
these. ’Tis a quarrel that is none of ours, and surely 
we may well let it lie. You have taken us at disad- 
vantage, in the weak state we are in : but, as on our 
part we have pledged to you our sacred word, we 
trust to find men of honour and caballeros in return. 
We have delivered up to you our arms, and claim 
your hospitality, and the safety of our lives, liberty, 
with the vessel and cargo, or whatever we can save 
from her.” 

This was the substance of his speech ; but he de- 
livered it with such a straightforward, manly kind oi 

* Owen seems to be translating literally the Spanish ex- 
pression of courtesy, Usiedy which is said to be a contrac- 
tion of the words Vuestra Merdd ; your mercifulness, or your 
gentleness, in the same sense in which we use the word /m- 
llemcniy and the Greeks, .-»£d. 


854 


THI IDVENTUBES OF OWEN ETANS, 


grace as took us extremely, and secured my confi 
deuce in him from that time onward. Parts of it, 
’tis true, I did not well understand ; above all, where 
he spoke of our two countries being then at war with 
each other. When we were last in port, ’tis true, 
what with our ships pushing their contraband trade 
in Campeachy Bay, and other parts of the Mexican 
coast ; with the reprisals, also, of the Spanish guarda- 
costas, there were abundant causes of rupture be- 
tween the governments of Spain and England. Yet, 
it appeared, we had put to sea a little before the news 
could reach us that Admiral Vernon had sailed with 
a fleet against the Spanish West Indies, and that 
open war had been declared. But this, together 
with events following, as the bombarding of Cartha- 
gena, the taking of Porto Bello, and the expedition 
of Commodore Anson (in which, it seemed, our 
friends were nearly interested), we learned from the 
lieutenant more at leisure. 


CHAPTER LX. 

A TREATY MADE AND RATIFIED. 

By this, Don Manuel had joined us, and took a 
chief part in the conference with his Spanish country- 
men. To be brief, we drew up certain articles for 
both sides to abide by : indeed, the dictating of terms 
was clearly on our side, by force of arms. And they 
were as follows : 

1, Neither party was to regard the other in the 


THl OATHOLIO CRUSOE 


855 


light of enemies ; but both to act as though war had 
not been proclaimed between our respective nations. 

2. A line was to be drawn, to portion off for the 
Spaniards a part of the island, enough to dwell in for 
and present, with permission to cut down wood to 
make themselves habitations, and for firing. 

3. Water, if not readily found within their allots 
ment, to be supplied by us, and brought to the spot, 
free of charge. 

4. We engaged to supply them also in fish and 
flesh, together with bread, vegetable, and fruit, at a 
moderate charge in money, tools, or other useful ar- 
ticles, if they could rescue any such from the wreck : 
othei*wise on credit, under note of hand from the 
lieutenant to the governor or commander of some of 
the Spanish colonies. 

5. Two persons named on their side, three on ours, 
and they alone, to have the privilege of passing the 
boundary line. 

6. Any other but these two of theirs, caught on 
our side of the line, to suffer the penalties of such as 
transgress martial law, at our pleasure. 

7. The wreck itself to remain Spanish property : 
we engaging to help to our utmost to bring it in- 
shore, or land such valuables from it as could be 
saved. In doing which things alone, the boundary 
line of separation did not hold good, and might be 
broken. 

8. In consideration of these good services, and in 
the event (which seemed unlikely enough) of their 
getting her off, or being rescued by some of their 
countrymen, we should be allowed a reasonable 


856 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


choice of any of the vessel’s ^oods for our own 
ase. 

9. Should the wreck be refitted, or any Spanish 
vessel, or other vessel friendly to Spain, touch at the 
island, we were to have a free passage to any port 
she might afterwards touch at, at our choice. 

10. Likewise, should any British vessel, or one 
from our colonies, touch at the place, the Spaniards 
to be allowed a passage on board of her, at a fair 

^average rate of passage-money, to any port that lay 
on their voyage, or which they might be driven into. 

11. In the meantime, their fire-arms, weapons, and 
powder, whether now landed, or still in the wreck, 
to remain in our safe keeping till we decided other- 
wise ; their supplies of food being secured to them, 
as above. 

12. All fair and friendly treatment to be assured 
to either party at the hands of any force on the op- 
posite side, should they heave in sight. 

These articles being once concluded, and solemnly 
ratified on both ades by oath, we proceeded at once 
to supply the poor famished men with food ; though 
for the present we did not eat with them (according 
to articles 2, 5, and 6 of our agreement), we took care 
they should want for nothing we could furnish. 
Therefore we sent the Indians in all haste to our 
storehouse, to fetch what might be at handj such as 
smoked peccary and codfish, with the cakes of yam 
and bread-fruits, made into a pulp, then strained and 
baked, such as we had learned by this time to make 
into palatable and wholesome loaves enough. But 


THE CATHOLIC CftUSOE. 


367 


anything, no matter how coaise and ordinary, was a 
dainty at that moment to men who had beeh for 
weeks and months on short commons, as these our 
guests had been : and latterly almost without food at 
all. Our care was less to supply them with victuals 
enough (of which there was no lack), but to hinder 
their making too free use of it. On my representing 
this to the lieutenant, and the danger of sickness, 
aye, and death itself, to men who should indulge to 
their hearts’ content after so long a fast, he entered 
at once into my views. Accordingly, we established 
a strict discipline among the crew in the order of 
getting their messes, and the quantity served to 
them. 

The sick came first ; for, where the disease was lit- 
tle else but scurvy and famine, or the exhaustion af- 
ter fever, then Dr. Diet (as Tom Harvey said) was 
the best doctor to call in. Accordingly, we divided 
the food into small portions, giving them more of 
bread than flesh-meat, and this moistened with water 
into a panada, or bread-sop. It seemed a cruel thing, 
to be sure, to deny so many famishing wretches as 
now came crowding towards us: but ’twas done out 
of sheer kindness, to prevent the ill effects of giving 
them too much at once. As they observed the con- 
ditions laid down, and would not, even pressed with 
hunger as they were, overstep the boundary line we 
had by this time drawn between us, we passed down 
on our side of the line, and fed them in order. We 
kept our three Indians running at their full speed up 
to our castle and back to us, bringing more meat 
and bread, till we had given the hungry Spaniards 


t58 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

as much as I judged well for the time. But, as W6 
promised them another meal soon, though many 
longing eyes from their meagre faces were cast at 
the remaining food, they were fain to submit ; and 
first with a thanksgiving to God, then to us, retired 
a little from the boundary. Some lay down for very 
weariness, more of them sat silent ; some talking to- 
gether in broken sentences, some with us across the 
line ; and a few retired with themselves to converse 
with God, and going upon their knees, continued 
their thanksgiving more at large. I am now sure, 
from what I knew of them on better acquaintance, 
there would have been more outward acts of devo- 
tion among them, but for the weariness that op- 
pressed their famished bodies and weighed down 
their souls. 

The lieutenant (or captain, as we must call him — 
for death, that took others from over his head, pro- 
moted him to command all that remained of a large 
crew, and the wreck of a large vessel,) — this officer, 
I say, seemed most attentive to do all that lay in 
his power for the comfort of his men. He neglected 
his own needs, or took a morsel only now and again, 
till he had given what help he could in ranging them 
to receive their portions of food, and aiding the sick ; 
who to be sure, were more easily fed in due order, 
being unable to stir from their hammocks. 

When the lieutenant had seen to this, and swal- 
lowed a few hasty morsels (so much as we judged 
safe to allow him, which he ate ravenously, like his 
men,) his next care was to try and save the ship, 
which we expected to go down every moment, so 


TH* CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


S59 


water-logged was she. The tide had shifted her in 
nearer, and saved her from being carried off by the 
current I spoke of ; in which case she had beyond a 
dcubt been lost to us, and carried away to the east 
of our island, into the open sea, or else wrecked on the 
reefs, and broken up. Our only hope for her was, 
she might drift into shoal water ; this she seemed 
likely to do, as we all stood watching her from the 
cove where these Spaniards had landed at the first. 
But it seems, the leak had gaind too fast op her for 
this : being now deserted by her crew, who had 
made still some feeble efforts at the pumps, all the 
while remained on board. 

’T was by a Providence the tide was now at its 
rise, not at ebb ; though the weather was so calm, 
with just a light breeze stirring, yet there was a sort 
of spring-tide on, and the water higher than common ; 
for, had it been neap-tide, we had either lost her 
altogether, or at the least, all would have been spoiled 
in the water, as you shall hear. For, as we debated 
with the lieutenant, whether we had now strength to 
man the boats, to board her, and contrive to pass a 
hawser round the foremast and so haul her somewhat 
in-shore, we found to our great concern she was be- 
ginning to settle down and sink on her larboard 
quarter. 

Now there was no help for it, but to wait on, and 
see the end ; for ’t would be madness, indeed, to ven- 
ture on board a sinking ship. But the lieutenant was 
in extreme grief at the sight, being in charge of the 
vessel; having also (as we afterwards learned) a 
considerable interest in some of her stores. He gave 


560 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


Utterance to this by passionate exclamations, walking 
up and down the beach, and throwing his hands 
abroad ; till we reasoned with him, begging him to 
be calm, and take the dispositions of Providence like 
a man and a Christian. This, indeed, he did, after a 
while j but at first, passion had its way with him. 


CHAPTER LXL 

THE lieutenant’s STOEY. 

We rejoiced to see, after that one great heel she 
gave to larboard, she settled down no lower for the 
time \ however, when nearly another half hour was 
gone by, her larboard bows dipped too, nigh upon a 
level with the quarter, and so she remained fast, 
never stirring after at all. We thought it might 
have happened thus, owing to the position of the 
leak; next day, however, showed us our mistake here. 
But now, we began to entertain great hopes of re- 
covenng at least a good part of the cargo, if not 
getting oft* the ship herself, when we had lightened 
her: besides this, we hoped to be able to do some- 
what tow^ards stopping the leak, and to make her 
sea-worthy again. In short, wild schemes came into 
our heads fast at the sight of this vessel lying so close 
to us ; we began to reason (in whispers among our- 
selves) as one good turn deserved another, and we 
had done the crew this great service, to give them 
hospitality in their famished condition, and save their 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


361 


very lives, ’t was the least they could do in turn, to 
refit the ship with us, and take us on hoard on equal 
terms, and land us where we might choose. 

Don Manuel not being with us (for he was busied 
with his sick men,) we kept this to ourselves for the 
time. But of all persons, he that desponded most 
was the poor lieutenant ; for knowing the condition 
of his ship, he assured us, her timbers were so strained, 
and the entire hull so rotten, he verily believed she 
never would float again. 

By this time, night being upon us, we blew a loud 
concert on our horns, to give notice, ’t was time for 
all to retire to quarters. We furnished our guests 
with good store of fuel, whereof they made a cheer- 
ful fire ; then toeing a line (as they say at sea) we 
handed them across the boundary a hot mess of 
stewed pork and potatoes, which the Indians had 
prepared for them, in more plenty and comfort than 
their former meal. When they had finished this, 
(and ^t was soon done, with hungry men as they were 
still, both then and for several days after) we assem- 
bled all together, each party on their own side, while 
Don Manuel said night prayers for us : for we said 
them to-night before our own supper, to let our weary 
guests have their rest without delay. 

’T was a sight to make any one feel, who owned a 
heart, when these poor men, so lately rescued from 
death, knelt there by the fire-light, in close neigh- 
bourhood of their dead and dying comrades, and 
made their thanksgiving aloud after the good priest. 
A brief prayer he made, but a hearty one ; then gave 
them his blessing, and dismissed them to rest. But 


362 THE ADTENTURIS OF OWEN STANS, 

we invited the lieutenant to be our guest at supper* 
leaving. Pounder with his bow and quiver as a sentinel, 
or picket, half way between the camps. After our 
meal, we begged for some account of the ship’s 
adventures ; which the Spanish officer gave us, almost 
word for word as T here set it down. 

“ ’Tis no news to you, Senores,” began the lieuten* 
ant, addressing us in Spanish as we sat roimd our 
fire, “that the name of our ill-fated vessel is the 
Hermiona^ of Valencia ; for you have seen that name 
painted on her boats, as you will see it again when 
you are so good as to help us in boarding the wreck. 
Then, too, you will see her fifty-four guns, wdth 
whatever equipments may remain ; but alas ! of the 
crew, five hundred strong, besides our complement 
of soldiers, you may behold all that survive in the 
few starved wretches whom, under divine Provi- 
dence,” he crossed himself devoutly, “you have 
saved from destruction.” With that, the poor man 
paused a little, being overcome by his feelings, and 
not well able to proceed: 

After a while, having received from us all tokens 
of sympathy, he recovered himself, and went on : 

“We formed part,” says he, “ of a squadron of six 
vessels fitted out by his most Catholic majesty to 
watch the motions and cross the designs of an Eng- 
lish admiral (Don Georgio Anson by name) who had 
sailed, on the first breaking out of the war between 
his country and ours, with a counter-squadron of five 
men-of-war, a sloop, and tw*o Victualling ships, to 
attack our colonies in Manilla and the parts adjacent 
Upon the first news of this expedition being afloat, 


THl OATHOLIO OBUSOS. 


363 


we were ordered to put to sea, which we did in such 
haste as caused the greater part of our disasters after. 
For we had not with us, on leaving the Spanish 
coast, more than four months’ provisions at the ut- 
most, and even that reckoned at short allowance 
only ; so that our best chance was to get round Cape 
Horn before the English admii-al could arrive thither, 
and victual our ships at leisure, either at Juan Fer- 
nandez or some point on the western coast of South 
America. But first, we made an attempt to procure 
us some provisions at Buenos Ayres, where we reck- 
oned on a supply ; and so steered for the Rio de la 
Plata from the leeward of the Madeiras, leaving our 
station near that island early in the November of last 
year.* 

Twas whilst we were lying off Madeira, to west- 
ward of the island, in the latter end of the previous 
month (October), we received intelligence from some 
trusty friends we had there (but most secretly, with- 
out knowledge of the Governor) that a squadron of 
ships had arrived in Madeira Road, that is, to the 
east, or windward, supposed to be the equipment un- 
der Commodore Anson, against which we were par- 
ticularly sent out. But as several weighty reasons 
made us prefer to encounter him in the South Seas, 
rather than near home, we determmed to leave him a 
clear passage, instead of standing out to meet him on 
that side of the island. So, after sending in the pa- 
tache that waited on us to reconnoitre every day 
close in-land, and having occupied that station but a 
short week in all, we made sail, as 1 have said, for 
* That is. the year 1740. — Ed. 


864 TH* ADTENTURIS OF OWEN EYA.iB, 

the Rio de la Plata in the very beginning of Novem- 
ber ; and, steering direct, arrived there early in Janu- 
ary of this year. 

I now see our great error, as, doubtless, does our 
gallant admiral, Don Jose Pizarro, if he be still in 
life (if not, may God receive his soul ; for a brave 
man he was, and careful of his men) ; our error, I re- 
peat, in not cruising round the island, to give battle 
to the commodore where he lay : in which case, we 
had either (through our superior force, for we num- 
bered more guns and greater weight of metal) cap- 
tured or dispersed his squadron ; or, at the least, we 
had greatly disabled and delayed this expedition 
against our colonies : besides causing him much loss 
of provision stores. For we knew he had victualled 
and watered at the island of Madeira; so he would 
have been forced to throw overboard vast quantities 
of what he had just taken, to clear his ships for but 
the chance of an engagement : and whether victor or 
no, would have thereby suffered both loss and delay. 

“ However, our course was now for Rio, to out- 
march him in sailing, and get first round the Horn ; 
to which end, parting company with two ships bound 
for the West Indies, we staid not till we dropped 
anchor in the bay of Maldonado, at the mouth of Rio 
itself. But, before we could receive our stores from 
Buenos Ayres, another sure but secret intelligence 
reached us, our enemy was now at Santa Catarina, 
preparing to put to sea again with the utmost expe- 
dition. Thus we found ourselves in the hard choice 
of going without the provisions we so greatly needed, 
witli imminent risk of falling short indeed, or being 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


365 


beaten in our race across the ocean, to find the Eng- 
lish squadron in the South Seas before us. 

“We chose the first evil as the least ; yet it turned 
out to be the greater, as you, Senores, are now wit- 
nesses. So, having stayed seventeen days only at 
Maldonado, thus narrowly missing all our provisions, 
which came down into the bay from Buenos Ayres 
within a day or two after we sailed, we now got 
under weigh, and put to sea before the enemy : but 
so close to him in point of time and nearness of sail- 
ing, that one of his ships (as we always believed, 
though from the distance we could only conjecture, 
for our admiral had given orders to the squadron to 
sail wide), mistaking our vessels for her own con- 
sorts, got within gun-shot of our admiral’s ship, the 
Asia ; and we, who watched the affair from our tops 
with our perspective glasses, had great hopes she 
would have been made a prize of. But she discov- 
ered her error so as to put about, barely in time, and 
so get clear away. 

“ When we set sail from Maldonado,” he went on, 
“’twas the third week of this present year; our 
voyage, too, was the longest and most perilous the 
greater part of our crew had yet made ; and we 
dreaded the very name of Cape Horn, so formidable 
for the storms to be encountered in doubling it. Our 
men now became very discontented : for the weather 
had been brewing up for a succession of gales, which 
came on us ; till, with every attempt to keep discipline 
aboard, signs of mutiny began to show among the 
crew : and these increased so much, we had to clap 
half a dozen of the ringleaders in irons. At length 


866 


THl AlbTlNTURSS 01 OWEN EYANS. 


we were forced to double the sentries of marineSi 
and keep a score of men under hatches, lest they 
might spread the mutiny among the rest 

‘‘ Matters were kept quiet for a time by an order 
from the admiral, that our seamen were to have part 
of their pay advanced to them in specie^ that is, a 
portion was to be assigned to each man, of the 
various goods for barter and traffic we had brought 
with us from Spain : that they might dispose of them 
in the South Seas, and so be in the way of making 
their fortunes. For instances were currently report- 
ed, both at home and in the fleet, of some who had 
brought back from our colonies a wealth in the pre- 
cious metals, and even gems of much value, in barter 
for mere trumpery wares in calicoes, or inferior silks, 
such as a Valencia tradesman’s wife would not wear 
on a holiday : or even what was less than these, as 
beads, nails, knives, bits of looking-glass, old iron 
hoops, glass, or glittering baubles of any kind. The 
hope of such a gainful traffic buoyed our men up for 
a while above their present miseries : for we Span- 
iards have always been seeking an El Dorado ; and 
there was not a common seaman, nor down to the 
cook’s boy, who did not picture to himself his return 
home, with a triumph like Columbus, a wonder ot 
riches and glory. This, with a strict watchfulness, 
and some examples made of the most disorderly by 
our captain, kept down the mutinous spirit that was 
still ever rising to a head. 

“ The time was near the end of February; by this, 
we had run down the coast of South America, and, 
by our reckoning, were in more than fifty-five do- 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


367 


grees of south latitude, to give us a fail sweep to 
double the Cape : which we prepared to do, by stand- 
ing to windward, in the very last night of that 
month. But (whether ’t was by the uncertain cur- 
rents, both of wind and sea, that conflict with each 
other round that great promontory, or by what other 
cause we never have discovered,) too certain it is, 
our ship, with two more of the squadron, the 
Guipuscoa and the Esperanza^ lost all sight of the 
admiral and the rest. We were now greatly at the 
mercy of the current ; making much lee-way towards 
the eastward, or by that to south-east, do all we could 
by lufling up into the wind’s eye : at length, after 
beating about within sight of the Falkland Islands 
for several days, our ship, together with the Esjm'- 
anza was able to pass the straits between Terra del 
Fuego and Staaten Island on the sixth of March ; but 
had here the discomfort of losing sight of the Gui- 
fmscoa^ which we saw no more, nor know to this day 
whether she has gone down, or doubled the Horn.” 


CHAPTER LXII. 

THB SAME CONTINUED. 

*• Next day,” continued the Spaniard, “ though I 
fear to weary you, gentlemen, by prolonging the sad 
story of our misfortunes, we were encountered by a 
furious tempest from the north-west, or thereaway ; 
for ’t was diflicult to account with any precision for 


368 


THB ADVBNTURKS OF OWEN BTANS, 


the wind’s quarter, where all was a confused jumble 
of tempest, head-winds, and conflicting currents. 
All I know is, we found it vain to contend with the 
fury of the elements ; had we attempted to do any- 
thing but just put our helm about, and scud before 
the wind, I verily believe we had ere now all been 
food for fishes. Neither can I say whether our plight 
was worse than what befell the rest of squadron, of 
whom indeed we scarce caught a glimpse now and 
then, nor any at all, after the second day of this 
furious tempest. Once or twice, when lifted from 
the trough of the sea on the back of a rolluig moun- 
tiain of water, we thought we could just catch sighu 
of one of the squadron, running for it close reefed, 
or partly dismasted (I could not know which,) far 
out to the south-by-east. This we thought to be the 
consort that had stayed longest by us, the Esperanza^ 
of fifty guns, with four hundred and fifty men 
aboard, not counting her portion of an old resriment 
of foot, many of them broken down and invalided, 
but now carried out to strengthen our garrisons on 
the coast of Chili. Alas ! where are all those brave 
souls now ? have they found a grave beneath the 
waters, or are they cast away like Ourselves, their 
unhappy companions?” And here the poor man 
stopped again for a little, and wept outright. 

We were urgent with him to take some rest now, 
and let the remainder of his sorrowful story stand 
over till next day: but it seemed a relief to his pent- 
up feelings to give us the tale of his misfortunes at 
once ; so, after a little remonstrating, we let him .go 
on. 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


m 

“ These, one would think, Senores,” says he, “ were 
calamities enough ; but greater were in store for us, 
as your gentleness shall hear. The evening of that 
same second day, while we were domg our best to 
guide the ship, but with ill success, and drove almost 
helplessly before the wind, came a huge roller, indeed 
a monster of a wave, that threatened to swallow us 
at a mouthful ; struck us with full force amid-ships ; 
and, but the Hermiona is a well-timbered sea boat 
(indeed, she is, alas ! I must rather say was, a charm- 
ing sailer on a light wind,) it had then and there 
made an end of us. But it gave us a shrewd wrench, 
and one we never got over : the good ship staggered 
and trembled like a living creature under a heavy 
blow ; and when we righted again (all but three poor 
fellows that were washed overboard, and went into 
eternity,) we found to our grief, almost to our despair, 
the binnacle,* with compass and all, had been 
washed at once into the sea. We were so ill-provided 
with the most necessary things for our expedition, 
owing to the haste of our sailing from Spain, you 
would scarce believe, Senores, this was the only com- 
pass we had on board : nor can I cease to wonder 
now at our improvidence; but so it was, as we know 
to our cost. 

“ Being thus left forlorn indeed on the open sea, 
and by the blackness of a continued tempest shut out 
from observation of the stars to guide us, we let our- 
selves drive whithersover the elements would take 
the vessel ; feeling it as likely we might be steering 

* *. the box which contaius the compass for steering t 
thip.—En. 


570 THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

away from some friendly haven as making for it j 
and we used the helm from that time, only to steady 
the ship; commending ourselves fervently to the 
good Providence of God to take us into harbour by 
His own secret guidance, whose ‘ way is in the sea, 
and His paths in many waters.’ To this we were 
tenderly exhorted by our good chaplain, Don Diego 
Rodez” — 

“ Diego Rodez !” exclaimed Don Manuel, not able 
to contain himself for astonishment and sorrow, “ was 
Diego, then, with you in yonder vessel?” 

“ Aye, truly, father,” says the lieutenant, surprised ; 
“ he was our chaplain^ and sailed with us from Valen- 
cia, sharing all our hardships ; and continued ever to 
be the main-stay and comfort of the crew, till he 
was stricken down with fever : then edified us all by 
his holy death.” 

“Ah, Diego, Diego!” cried the priest, in the first 
burst of his sorrow : “ my early companion and friend ! 
Ah thou saintly one, whose example 1 ought to have 
followed more faithfully ! and thou art gone — gone 
hence before me” : — ^he could say no more ; but sat 
with his face buried in his hands. 

We were all silent for a while ; till Don Manuel, 
still covering his face, said, in a broken voice, in Lat- 
in, and I repeated in English : “ May the souls of the 
faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace !” 
All answered. Amen ; after which the lieutenant 
went on to us, in a lower tone. I should rather say 
to vm; for as to the rest, they did not understand 
much of his Spanish, and one after another soon 
dropped oflT to sleep round the fire. 


THB OATUOLIO ORUSOB. 


371 


“Well, Sir,” says he, “ we found the same sea that 
had washed away our binnacle, had also sprung our 
main-mast to that degree, that not only was it useless 
to carry sail, but we feared, at every lurch the ship 
gave, the top-hamper would bring the mast down, 
and kill some of our men on deck. We were there- 
fore compelled to cut it away by the board, though 
’t was like signing our death-waiTants to do so : and, 
before we had got half through it, the ship gave 
another great keel, and saved us all trouble for the 
rest, throwing the mast sheer over her starboard 
quarter. We cut ourselves free from the tackle, and 
sailed on as well as as we could ; but our steerage 
was now so damaged by the huge waves that had 
taken us abaft, the ship would scarce answer her 
helm : and two days after, with the continual rolling, 
our mizen shared the fate of the main-mast, only 
that it did not go quite by the board. The Hermiona 
was now little more than a log on the water j all we 
could do was, to keep her head pretty fair with any 
ocean-stream we might meet, and redouble our 
prayers. 

“ So far for our sailing disasters ; but the worst re- 
mains to be told. Our provisions, already scanty, 
had fallen so frightfully short, nothing but death by 
starvation now stared us in the face. It was afflict- 
ing to the utmost degree to see brave men, who had 
set forth from their native country full of hope and 
vigour, now doomed to die on the wide sea, like so 
many caged birds, or mice, a death so horrible, and 
by inches. I believe, never did an impatient suf- 
f(^rer, groaning under some lingering disease, call 


372 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


more fervently on death to release him, than our poor 
fellows yearned and prayed for the English squadron 
to heave in sight, that they might at least die at their 
guns, for their king and country. But all no avail I 

“We had for some time been reduced to half our 
daily allowance ; then this again was made less, till 
we came down to nigh a quarter ; then to the quarter 
itself. We now began to lose our men very fast; a 
fever broke out together with the famine, or follow- 
ing on it : and we had to throw many overboard ev- 
ery day. Still, the provisions declined almost m the 
same degree ; so that the number of starving mouths 
remaining on board made us scarcely to feel the re- 
lief afforded by those who had ceased to eat. At this 
period of our sufferings, we took to anything that 
offered, no matter how distasteful to any one in 
plenty : the rats in the ship became valuable prizes, 
and were disposed of by any who was lucky enough 
to catch one, as his hunger or avarice dictated. 1 
have known a rat to fetch four or five dollars ; and 
when they had all disappeared, more than double 
that price would have been given for them. Some 
of the men stole the ship’s lanthorns, cut the horn of 
them into strips, and kept themselves alive by chew- 
ing it in secret. Any old piece of untanned leather 
was most greedily seized ; the soldiers esteemed it an 
advantage to have their gloves to eat ; and seal-skin 
shoes were quarrelled and fought for : then later on, 
tanned or untanned, all came to us alike. 

“ At length— I tremble to think of it— one dreadful 
alternative began to force itself on our thoughts. No 
one spoke of it at first ; then, by degrees, it began to 


TUR OATHOLIO 0BU80E. 


873 


be whispered about, but ’twas never known who first 
gave utterance to it — that, if this extremity con- 
tinued, rather than, that all should perish, one, or 
some, must be sacrificed” — 

Here he stopped again, overcome; we shuddered 
with horror, too, to think what he meant, and that 
'twas possible for Christian men, reduced to such 
straits of hunger, to turn into very cannibals, and 
devour one another. “ And how were you saved 
from this horrible thing?” asked Don Manuel, at 
length : “ for saved from it you were, I trust in 
God I” 

“ By him who is gone to his reward,” answered the 
lieutenant, crossing himself again : “ our good chap- 
lain, I mean. When the gunner came to him, lying, 
as he was, exhausted with famine and sickness, and 
whispered to him such things were beginning to be 
breathed among us, he dragged himself up the com- 
panion-ladder, more dead than alive, and stood sud- 
denly on deck. We shrank away from him, so death- 
like he looked ; some of us doubted whether it were 
not his ghost : but gathering the last of his strength, 
he exhorted us so pathetically, for the love of God, 
and by faith in His providence, to abstain from this 
hideous resource, that we all went down upon our 
knees on the deck around him, kissing the hem of his 
garment, and swore a solemn oath we would hold out 
three full days longer. It was the last service he 
rendered to his Lord ; for he swooned, and lay for 
dead, almost before the words were out of our lips ; 
in truth, he died that very night. But, though we 
were reduced to the extremity of tearing ap rotten 


S74 


TH® ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


planks from the deck, and gnawing the softer parti 
of the wood, yet we kept our word with him, though 
mth great difficulty ; and before the three days were 
quite out, we discovered your island from the fore- 
top, and fired our guns, which (I doubt not) you 
heard. You know the rest, Senores: and to you, af- 
ter God, be the thanks of the perishing given.” 

Having tlms ended his narrative, the poor man 
knelt to Don Manuel, to ask his blessing ; then sa- 
luted us with all the courtesy of his nation, though by 
this he could scarce speak for weariness, and retired 
to his side of the boundary, to forget his sorrows in 
sleep. 


CHAPTER LXm. 

LAWFUL WBECKING. 

At daybreak, next morning, the horns summoned 
us to spring up, and begin an important day for us 
all First came morning prayer and spiritual Mass, 
which w'e never omitted ; and here I must pass by 
the astonishment and joy of the poor Spaniards on 
finding that we were Catholics like themselves. They 
had taken it for granted that, because w’^e were Eng- 
lishmen, we must needs also be heretics ; and were 
slow to believe but that there was some delusion 
here, and something would turn up afterwards to 
show we were such as they supposed. But when 
they were fully convinced of the truth, I could 
plainly see they not only were well satisfied about 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


375 


ourselves, but regarded Don Manuel with great rev- 
erence, as having been the instrument to us of such a 
favour. 

Our after concern was to snatch a hasty breakfast, 
which was made as plentiful as time permitted, hav- 
ing hard work to do after it. Pounder and the lieu- 
tenant, in the meantime, went down to the cove to 
look after the wreck : when they came back, each re- 
ported, in his own fashion, she had not sunk lower, 
but, on the contrary, seemed to have been pushed by 
the advance of the tide further up on the reef where- 
on she had grounded. For this, we made out, was 
the reason why she keeled so much to larboard, 
namely, her starboard bow had been showed by the 
tide upon one of those coral reefs that made up our 
defences and the peril of our visitors ; so the ship’s 
balance was overset. 

We ran down to the cove, eager to save what 
could still be got from the wreck : and we found, as 
the lieutenant said, she had changed her place in- 
deed, but whether better or worse for our purpose 
was hard to determine. For the whole of her fore- 
castle and greater part of her starboard bow appeared 
now high and dry ; but then, to balance that, her lar- 
board quarter was deeper in the water, and half the 
quarter-deck, too, was drowned. So we had little 
hope of being able to save any of her more valuable 
cargo ; nor, what was of much more value to us, her 
store of powder, that lay too deep in the hold ; nor 
whatever specie she miglit carry. But that last, the 
Spaniard assured me, was little enough, and only 
what would settle the ship’s dues for provisions in 


876 


TH* ADVENTURES OF OWEE EVANS. 


port : for they rather hoped to carry back silver to 
Old Spain than were equipped to carry out any ; and 
partly were designed to relieve the galleon that 
sailed every year from Valparaiso, from making her 
voyage that year ; which, by reason of the war that 
had broken out, and Commodore Anson’s expedition, 
would have been hazardous in the extreme. 

However, by dint of hard labour, with breaking up 
a part of the main-deck (though the greater part lay 
a foot or two under water) with help of crow-bars, 
and other instruments we rummaged out on board, 
we made our way down to the officers’ berths ; but 
found little to repay our labor, except some fine 
clothes and linen, that were welcome enough to us. 
There was, indeed, some small store of money, too, 
and other valuables ; but these were so little to our 
purpose, we had almost pitched them into the sea, 
for sheer vexation at finding nothing beside. ’Twas 
with great difficulty we got at an arm-chest ; when 
we had found it, there was no getting it up whole, 
for the weight, and depth of water : for half our 
work was to dive, or scramble, rather, under the 
water, with a rope tied round us, to be hauled up if 
there was danger of our being smothered. But, not 
being used to diving, we could not stay under for 
more than three or four minutes at most ; ’twas blind 
work, too, after all, tc feel about for such heavy 
things in the dark, and dangerous to venture more 
than a few steps from the hole in the deck by which 
we entered. So, after some hours’ labour, each re- 
lieving the other, we got little enough for our pains, 
though Gill stayed under so long at one time, trying 


TH* CA-mOLIO CRUSOE. 


377 


at the arm-chest, to break it open, that when he came 
up the blood gushed from his nose and ears, and 
’twas some little time before he got his breath again. 

Our Indians did us the best service here ; for it 
seems, in Toonati-nooka they are all expert divers, 
and trained to it from their very infancy, going down 
several fathoms deep after pearl-oysters and other 
shell-fish, or coral for their ornaments ; and even the 
children take to the water almost before they can run 
alone. Pounder and Samuel were now delighted to 
render us this good turn : while we relieved them in 
mounting guard (for we harbored no unkind sus- 
picions of our new fiiends, yet would not lay our- 
selves open to be taken at unawares), they kept 
plunging in, turn-and-turn-about, and stayed under 
an amazing time indeed, by comparison. At last, 
between them, the arm-chest was broken into, and 
they came up in triumph, bringing now a musket, 
now a cutlass, or brace of pistols, now some heads of 
boarding-pikes : in short, during two or three days 
(for I must go on faster in my account) working at 
this employment only, we got out no less than twen- 
ty-nine muskets, with seventeen large pistols, of the 
kind they call a petronel, or large horse-pistol, besides 
six of a smaller sort : and even we made contrivance 
to unship and get into the boat a small brass mortar 
or short carronade, mounted on a swivel, such as 
would do wholesale execution if it were crammed 
with bullets, or even with nails, odds and ends of 
iron, nay, with stones and pebbles from the beach, 
provided only we found powder to charge it with. 

Of powder, we only found three large horns in the 


378 THE ADVBNTDBBS OF OWEE STANS, 

officers’ cabins ; one of these was touched by th« 
water, so that a great part was useless and spoiled. 
However, we brought it all ashore ; and later, by 
drying the damaged part of this powder in the sun, 
we made it serve passably well, as we did also the 
rest of the wetted powder we got up afterwards 
from the powder-room in casks : only, it would miss 
fire by times, and we were never sure of it. But we 
had learned, by this time, not to rely on our guns at 
all; so, husbanding all our powder to garrison our 
fortress, we laid it up in the dry magazine in our 
rock, to serve us in any bout we might yet have 
with savages, or other encounters. 

And I may as well mention here, we began to 
make bows and arrows for our Spanish friends, too 
and taught them how to use them : we went on with 
our regular practice from day to day ; at least, after 
we had got everything from the wreck we could lay 
hands on. So that we might be reckoned well found 
in weapons of ofifence : having now powder enough 
to blow ourselves and our enemies into the air, be- 
sides such a skill in archery that we thought it no 
rare feat to pick oflT a small bird from the. top of the 
highest cocoa-palm in the island. Our Indians made 
themselves javelins as well as bows out of the bam- 
boo-canes, and shod and pointed them with sharks’ 
teeth or glimmer: also, they hollowed out other 
bamboos, smoothing the inside with great care ; then 
fitted a light arrow into them, and blew it forth with 
their breath with great force and an amazing good 
aim to a distance. So that, altogether, we were now 
a formidable body oi archers, six-and-forty strong ; 


THB CATHOLIC CKUSOB. 


.379 


and witli our castle and powder-magazine, might 
have given battle or stood a siege against more than 
twice our number. 


CHAPTER LXIV. 

HUMOURS AND SECRETS. 

Now began a new life on our island, and at first ? 
strange one ; for if our being left here was beyond 
all expectation, six poor forlorn men, to shift for 
themselves; I may say, ’twas yet more so to find our 
colony increased by a second unlooked-for adventure 
like this. But truth, I have heard said, is stranger 
than fiction ; and certain it is, should any one take 
into his head to invent such a tale, on the side of the 
Spaniards or our own, and put it on paper, he would 
be set down as a romancer, unworthy of belief. 

When I returned to England, indeed, some years 
after (for I may as well outrun my story here a lit- 
tle), the war being then over, the commodore* raised 

* Anson, who returned to England with his only remain- 
ing ship, the Centurion^ after the capture of a rich Spanish 
galleon, and nearly four years after he had set sail from Spit- 
head, in command of five ships and a sloop. He came back 
with the twofold glory of as much naval success as the vexa- 
tious delays of the government permitted him to reap, and 
of being ranked among the circumnavigators of tlie globe ; 
arriving at Spithead in June, 1744. His great success ofi 
Cape Finisterre afterwards crowned his reputation as a brave 
and skilful commander. He was thereupon created baron 
Sober ton ; and having risen, through every successive rank 
in the service, to be admiral and commander-in-chief of hij 
majesty’s fleet, died in 1762 .— -Ed 


380 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

to be a peer, and endowed with great wealth — all 
which he well deserved, not more for bravery and 
signal services, than for humane and honourable con- 
duct throughout the war — I heard, among other ru- 
mours which I well knew to be false, that the Her- 
miona was thought to have foundered at sea, when 
the Spanish fleet was driven back from Cape Horn 
by that tempest the lieutenant told us of. 

Nay, this was even believed in Spain, as I learned 
from a merchant of that nation whom I met at a 
cofiee-house in London, not so very long since. 

His story ran as follows : That, with all the efibrts 
of Pizarro, the Spanish admiral, and the commanders 
of the several vessels under him, to prosecute the en- 
terprise that squadron had set forth upon, finding 
the tempest too much for them, in the disabled con- 
dition of their ships and crews (the one shattered 
and dismasted, grovring leakier every day ; the other 
worn out with fever, scurvy, and famine alike, dis- 
spirited with adverse fortune, not to speak of the 
exhausting labour of constantly working the ships’ 
pumps in that state of weakness), they had all oeen 
forced to run for it before the wind ; 

That nothing was then left to them but to bear 
away for the Rio de la Plata, which place the ad- 
miral, in his own ship (the Asia), happily succeeded 
in making, but not till near the middle of May in 
that year ; 

That two other ships of the squadron, first the 
Esperanza, of fifty guns, with four hundred and fifty 
men (or what remained of them), then the San E$- 
tevan, of forty guns, that had taken from Spain a 


TH* CATHOLIC ORUSOTB. 


881 


crew of three hundred and fifty, followed the Asia^ 
and made Rio a few days later than the admiral ; 

That the Gtiipuscoa, the largest ship of the squad- 
ron, a seventy-four, carrying an equal complement of 
men with the admiral’s, that is to say, seven hundred 
strong, grounded and sank somewhere ofi the Bra- 
zils ; but her crew, I mean always the poor remnant 
that famine had not devoured, nor fever wasted, 
saved their lives in the boats, and some found their 
way back to Spain, but others settled in the Spanish 
plantations; 

That the Hermiona had, without any doubt, foun- 
dered at sea, since none of her crew were heard of 
after. 

As to these items, with other details of the straits 
the five ships’ companies were reduced to for want of 
provisions, and the horrors of famine aboard ship (all 
which agreed very well wfith the Spanish lieutenant’s 
narrative), I could readily believe each and every one, 
except the last article. Indeed, as to the rest, with 
this included, I had read it before then in the account 
of Lord Anson’s voyage, by his chaplain, printed for 
John and Paul Knap ton in Ludgate street. 

If the reader should now ask, why I have kept 
this fact so close, without giving (for I never have 
given) the least hint of it, whether to the Spanish or 
English governments, nor even in conversation with 
my friends, I would beg in return, that he would 
please to consider the circumstances under which 
these men, being at war with my own country, were 
cast on that island of which I might be reckoned (in 
some sort) viceroy, or governor : how we were all 


582 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


there together, in an out-of-the-way corner of the 
world ; how men, in circumstances so strange, in the 
utmost distress, needing each other’s aid for very life, 
almost cease to belong to this or that nation, and 
merge into the great family of mankind. Let him 
leflect how barbarous and inhuman a thing it were 
m me, on touching my native shores, to turn informer 
on the whereabouts of brave men who had been the 
sport of such disasters ; that, war or no war, they 
were my brothers in misfortune, fellow-colonists in 
the island while they stayed there, or colonists on 
their own account, if they returned ; that, whether on 
our island, or in Toonati-nooka (if they ever reached 
that place), they had the same right to liberty : — but 
while I revise these sheets, three years after they 
were written, and arrive at that word liberty^ I feel 
with sorrow, these are not the days in which freedom 
from injustice is the portion of a seaman,* of what- 
ever merit. 

In fine, I have decided it in my mind, that not 
they only, but their descendants for two, aye, and 
for three generations (in case they have settled in 

* This allusion seems to point clearly to the death, in 
1757, of the unfortunate Admiral Byng, who was shot in that 
year for an alleged neglect of duty, but apparently to save 
the credit of an unpopular and incapable ministry. Owen 
Evans expresses, in his more homely way, very much the 
sentiment recorded in the Admiral’s epitaph, placed by his 
family over his renaains ; “ To the perpetual disgrace of pub- 
lic justice, the Hr'iourable John Byng, Vice-Admiral of the 
Blue, fell a martyr to political persecution on March the 
14th, in the year 1767, when bravery and loyalty were insuf- 
ficient securities for the dfe and honour of a naval officer.” 

The reader will observe that, reckoning three years after 
flfroen from Owen’s misfortune in 1789, brings us precisely to 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


883 


tkat country, without going back to Spain), shall 
remain undisturbed from any quarter, so far as I can 
provide for it ; unless the restless spirit of discovery 
and enterprise now awakened among us, shall pro- 
duce another South Sea Bubble, or another voyage 
round the globe. My friend, the Honourable John 
Byron,* is perhaps the most likely man I know of to 
ferret these my other friends out in their retreat, 
should he hoist his flag again for those parts where 
he hath already suffered so great hardship. And the 
knowledge of there being such active spirits among 
us, together with other motives it were tedious to 
trouble the reader with, have determined me to leave 
these sheets in trust with a discreet friend of mine, 
and with his son and grandson after him, their 
hereditaments and assigns ; never to see the light till 
one hundred years, or thereabout, shall have come 
and gone, after I have passed out of this life into the 
world to come ; when, sweet Jesu, have mercy on 
my soul I Amen. 


♦ Commodore Bvron, second son to William, fourth Lord 
Byron, and grandmther to the unhappily celebrated poet, 
was born at Newstead in 1723, and went as midshipman in 
one of Anson’s ships (the Wager) in 1740. This vessel was 
wrecked on the coast of Patagonia ; whence, after enduring 
extreme hardships, he reached Chiloe, was made prisoner by 
the Spaniards, taken to St. Jago, in Chili, and did not return 
to England for more than five years after his dep^ture, i. 
from 1740 to 1746. Eighteen years after this ag^ he took 
command of an expedition of discovery to the South Seas, 
and having gone roand the world, returned in safety two 
years afterwards. He commanded on the West Indian Stac 
tion during the American war, and died in 1768 . — Ed. 


m 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


CHAPTER LXV. 

THE BEST DISCOVERY OP AXL. 

Growing assured of the honest purpose of these 
new-comers, we went all lengths [by degrees] in 
trusting them : till at last we repealed some of those 
strict laws we had made on their arrival, forming 
thenceforth but one commonwealth, and having in- 
terests and property in common. “We will have 
nothing more to do,” says Don Manuel, “ with those 
cold words, mine and thine and went on to say, in 
the first days of Christianity, the multitude of the be- 
lievers threw all into a common stock, none saying 
that aught of the things which he possessed was his 
own. “ But what shall be done,” I asked, “ if any 
prove himself a worthless member of the community, 
and begin to disturb or injure the rest ?” “ Let him 

who discovers it take that man aside,” answered the 
priest, “ and reason with him in meekness and char- 
ity.” “ Well, but,” I went on [he and I were talk- 
ing alone at this time], “ and if he still persist ?” 
“ Then let two or three of the elder and more mod- 
erate enforce on him what the first has said.” “ And 
if he be obstinate after that ?” “ Then bring him to 

me,” says he, smiling, “ and I will persuade him by 
those higher motives he possesses in virtue of being 
a Catholic.” “ And lastly, Tadoone, if he remain 
deaf, even to you ?” “ Then we will banish him,” he 

answered, in a decided way, “ to the further side of 


THK OATHOLIO ORUSOl. 385 

the island, till solitude or hunger bring him back to 
his senses and to us.” 

This being understood, we pursued our lives all to- 
gether : and making no distinction of race, language, 
or date of coming, we admitted the Spaniards to 
share our crops, farm, larder, cave, and all the nat- 
ural advantages or after contrivances of our banish- 
ment. They, for their part, shared with us the stores 
we got from the wreck day by day ; always with the 
proviso we would account for the value of these, or 
at least give in an estimate of our use and consump- 
tion of them, to any authorities of our several coun- 
tries, should a kind Providence one day take us off 
this place of exile. 

Having arranged matters thus, as the only thing 
to be done under the strange circumstances we were 
thrown in, we made it a part of our daily life to go off 
to the wreck, and fetch away all we could lay hands 
on. We were well content to find her settle down 
no further in the water : indeed, upon the coral reef 
she had struck on, that was out of the question ; thus 
we were encouraged to wait for some extraordinary 
low water, at the neap tide, when, the sea being 
calm, we might come at some of the stores below our 
usual diving. Meantime, we got out of her what- 
ever we could reach, by tearing away parts of the 
upper deck (to which end we made a sacrifice of 
three or four more gun barrels), and diving to the 
orlop deck : though we found that dangerous, by 
reason of the entanglements of the place itself, and 
the broken bulkheads and woodwork that floated to 
and fra 


886 


THB ADTENTURBS OF OWEN EVANS 


Indeed, one of our Spaniards, Jose Martinez by 
name, had a narrow escape with his life, being 
jammed in under water by a beam of wood so heavy 
he could not free himself. Only by the strength and 
courage of our noble Tom Harvey he was saved at 
all, being quite senseless when Tom brought him up 
with infinite difficulty, and himself almost spent. As 
to poor J ose, we could not bring him round for some 
time, with rubbing, clapping the palms of his hands, 
blowing into his nostrils, and what not : so that I 
truly believe, had there been a swell on though never 
so little, they had been both lost without remedy. 
But J ose never forgot the gratitude he owed his 
preserver : so that a close friendship sprung up be- 
tween these two, and they made a compact together, 
they would specially serve and befriend one another 
on all occasions. When this came to Tadoone’s ears, 
he was not well pleased at it; and sending for them^ 
both they were already under such a compact, not 
to each other alone, but to all the rest, and need not 
make it afresh as between particular persons. For 
being men, says he, and being Christians besides, we 
are bound to help, aye, and love one another. As 
men, we owe our fellow-men an obligation of mutual 
aid and good will : and as Catholic Christians, we are 
bound up together in the mystical body of our Lord, 
and so are “ members one of another.” I can have 
nothmg (he added to say against a true friendship 
between two men, that is based on their having a 
like character and tastes, or being companions in 
misfortune or success; so that general chanty sufiTer- 
eth not thereby. And thus ended his little discourse 
to Jose and Tom. 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


887 


’Twere tedious to give a list of all we got out of 
the wreck, by dint of hard working ; but every day 
saw our stores increasing in things very useful to us 
in our present condition. We carried away all that 
was portable, and made attempts at many things 
that were not : in particular, we became rich in dam- 
aged powder, and old iron, what with hoops, bars, 
nails, and clamps; some of them served our needs in 
the shape we got them in, others we contrived to 
forge into rude spades, chisels, javelins, arrow-heads, 
and what not, by heating them in the hottest wood 
fire we could make, and hammering them into shape 
between two stones. ’Tis true, we were young in 
the smith’s craft, as in many other trades : but ne- 
cessity, they say, is the mother of invention ; and, as 
we had only ourselves to please, we managed weH 
enough. Also, the planks and beams we got from 
her, that came away by degrees as the irons were 
loosened, proved handy to us in many ways, chiefly 
for putting up divisions in our cave, and for firewood. 
By these mstruments too, we so enlarged our cave 
itself, as made it more like a catacomb, with passages 
running one into the other at right angles: and, 
growing bolder now, from our increased numbers, 
with no sign of savages coming to molest us, we re- 
solved to make an entrance from below as well as 
above. So, going to work within our entrenchments, 
we hewed a low arch into the base of our clifi*, till 
we were seven or eight feet in : then cut upwards, and 
made a sloping passage with steps notched in the 
rock, aiming (as near as we could guess) at the centre 
of our cave above. We were not so far out in our 


S88 , THB ADVBNTURBS OF OWEN EVANS, 

reckoning, neither ; for when we had worked for the 
best part of a week, we found ourselves coming up 
through the rocky floor of that short passage that 
led out of our main passage into the kitchen. This, 
to be sure, was an awkward place enough to find 
ourselves planted in, with our new stair-case : but 
the thing being done, was not to be undone ; and 
the best remedy we could devise was to cut us out 
another passage round about, avoiding the hole we 
had made in the floor : then we blocked the former 
entrance to the kitchen with some trunks of trees 
laid lengthways, one over the other ; and began to 
use our new stair-case with much satisfaction. 

To come back to the wreck; among our most 
valuable discoveries was the finding of the chaplain’s 
vestments and chalice (Don Diego Podez, I mean, 
that had died on board.) The Spaniards told us 
they were to be found somewhere ; and true enough 
we lit on them at last, stowed away in a chest with 
a few other things, almost worthless, that had be- 
longed to the poor priest, and seemed to make up 
the whole of his worldly wealth. As, a very old 
cassock, a pair of shoes much worn, a shirt or two, 
none of the best, a crucifix and small case of relics, 
his breviary, two little books of devout prayers and 
meditations, a larger volume, which Tadoone said 
was a treatise on theology, and some Latin papers, 
with the seal of the bishop of Valencia. These were 
all much spoiled by the salt water, and the leaves of 
the books so glued together, we made sure no man 
would ever read them again. But Don Manuel, to 
whom (I could well see) these books were a great 


THB OATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


389 


prize, by patient drying of them in the sun, so far 
restored them that a good part of their contents 
became readable again: and he took much delight in 
making out these parts, giving us little choice bits 
of spiritual maxims and words of comfort, proper 
to our condition. 

The priest’s vestments had suffered from the sea- 
water as much, almost, as the books: yet by dint 
of care they came out pretty well at last. As for 
the little altar-stone and linens to suit it, they were 
no ways damaged. With these, and the sacred 
vessels (with a case of very pure Spanish wine that 
we found in the captain’s cabin,) and a pound or two 
of virgin wax to make tapers of, we had every pros- 
pect of having that Holy Sacrifice among us, that 
we had learned so much to desire, and were so much 
hoping to profit by. 

In brief, Don Manuel with much joy, applied him- 
self to the bags (our Indians had woven them of 
plantain leaves,) wherein he kept his store of wheaten 
corn, in hopes of such an occasion as this : grinding 
out now a portion between two flat stones, he kneaded 
up the paste, and made, with much ado, some thin 
sheets of unleavened bread, whereof (after baking) 
he cut out round wafers, half as large again as a rix- 
dollar. Having made some dozens of these, he laid 
them up in one of the driest shelves, or cup-boards 
in our cave : then announced to us, all things were 
ready to celebrate holy Mass the morning after. 

This was joyful news to us, you may believe : our 
spiritual mass and communions having prepared us, 
by a great degree of longing, to welcome this chiefest 


8Q0 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

of blessings whenever it should come indeed. W« 
spent the afternoon in getting ready for the happiest 
day of our lives, all of us going to make our con- 
fession : which occupied no long time, inasmuch as 
we (most of us) did that every week, and lived at 
peace with our neighbours, except a little breeze (oi 
so) now and again ; and were happily removed out 
of the way of temptation. 

N ext morning came, and with it came the blessing 
of holy Mass and Communion. I am a bad one to 
describe such things as these; so must leave to my 
reader to suppose for himself what we felt as we knelt 
round the altar which Tadoone had arranged in a 
little arbour we had built for our summer chapel, or 
part woven and part built, lacing the sides in and out 
with tendrils of osiers and supple-jack. 

One of our Spaniards, Bartolome Ramirez, served 
the priest’s Mass, having been used to do so [he told 
us] in the Church of the Augustinians at Valencia; 
and so, all went on orderly and devoutly: nor were 
we distracted by the newness of it, having had every 
part, and every ceremony, explained to us by our 
good Tadoone. But in truth, as I recall that mornincr 
to my thoughts, my eyes fiU with tears I am not 
ashamed of: only, I had sooner dropped my pen, 
and go on my knees to thank God. than write any 
more about it 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


391 




CHAPTER LX^a 

SIGNS OF ANOTHER MOVE. 

One thing only seemed now to disturb our tranquil 
way of life ; that was, the disturbance we noticed in 
our friend and guide: for, strange to say, he that had 
upheld us often in wayward desponding moods, and 
disgust at our lot, now seemed to be unhinged by 
some troublous thoughts of his own. He said noth- 
ing to us on the matter ; but kept it to himself, what- 
soever it might be ; trying to seem as cheerful as had 
been his wont. Only, I noticed him to be now more 
retired by himself : not, as before, when he was en- 
gaged at his devotions only, but at odd times too, 
unless he could help us by labour, of which he was 
never shy, or advice on any point we needed. I 
came on him once and again, seated with his head 
resting on his hand, gazing out on the sea to that 
quarter whence the canoe had been driven to us by 
the hurricane, some two years before. When he 
observed me, he would rise, and pass it off with a 
remark on the weather or such common things ; but 
I could well see, he was thinking on something 
farther off 

What opinion the others had on all this, I know 
not ; for I would not share my thoughts with any 
upon it. They looked at him, ft is true, with some 
uneasiness ; for he had become a necessary portion 
of our well-being, and the idea of his being taken 
from us by death, or in any other way, was such as 


892 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

we could not endure : so much had his gentle manners 
and example softened down those rude natures to the 
temper and affections of good Christians. But no 
one spoke about this change in him, except in whispers 
one to the other : I, for my part, was at no loss for 
a shrewd guess what it meant. I had not forgotten 
the night when his own words showed he was dream- 
ing about Toonati-nooka, and converting the savages 
there ; I made no doubt, therefore, ’t was on that 
project his mind was fixed, and that he never would 
be content nor happy again, till he had contrived to 
go over, and visit them. 

One afternoon, that I found him again in this mus- 
ing way, I made free to approach him on the sub- 
ject: I told him, in a half-jesting tone, methought 1 
could read a little, too, in the book he was studying 
BO deeply. He looked at me, as somewhat surprised, 
not seeing what I meant ; for he knew not I had dis- 
covered his thoughts. Then, presuming on our 
friendship, I went on in the like strain : I told him I 
could put the title of the book in one word. He then 
asked me to give him the word. “ Nay, father,” 
said I, “ what is the book you have nearest to your 
heart?” On this, he pulls out his constant compan 
ion, his prayer-book, and shows it to me, with a smile. 

“ You see, friend Owen, there are two words on the 
title; read them — Breviarium Romanum : so you 
are mistaken in your guess.” “ Well,” I pursued ; 

^ may I put my question in another way ?” Any 
way you wish,” says he. “ What is the book, then,” 

I asked, “ that is nearest to your heart, and furthest 
from your eyes ? What is it you think on daily, 


MB CATHOLIC CRtSOB. 


S93 


and gaze after, and the name of which is oft on your 
lips in your prayers ? Describe it to me by the name 
of a place.” “ Truly, my dear child,” says he, “ as 
you are turned catechist on a sudden, I hope, per- 
haps, ’tis heaven.” — “ But short of heaven ?” — “ Why, 
short of heaven, I desire to find myself safe in purga- 
tory.” — “But short of purgatory,” I insisted, “ and 
a longer word, if not two ?” “ Ah,” says he, smiling 

still, but shaking his head now : “ yes, you have read 
my thoughts truly, and my book, I see : ’tis, mdeed, 
Toonati-nooka !” 

With that, rising, he stretches forth his hand to- 
wards the sea, that divided him from the object ot 
his yearning ; and says to me with the tears in his 
eyes : “ See, friend ; below that horizon are multi- 
tudes of precious souls, bought, equally with you 
and me, at the price of the same Divine Blood,” and 
he lifted his hat with great reverence. “ Ah, how 
greatly were they beloved by that Heart that ago- 
nized for us all on the cross : yet, how far are they 
from Him ! how far from the knowledge of Him, ot 
power to love Him !” 

He stopped a littl« overcome by what he felt ; 
then laid his hand on my arm, and said : “ Remem- 
ber out of what depth of hideous wicked heathenism 
our three Indians were rescued : well, even in those 
dark depths are countless souls now lying there !” he 
repeated, thrusting his arm again over the sea; 
“ there, there !” 

“ I see them,” he went on, “ as clearly as with 
these bodily eyes; shedding one another’s blood, 
dancing round monstrous idols, sacrificing their pris- 


394 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

oners, perhaps their very children, to demons, drop- 
ping two, three, ten at a time, dropping into hell j” 
his voice sunk to a whisper, and he covered his eyes 

Soon he raised his looks and hands to heaven, and 
said in a pleading voice, “ Regina apostolorum, ora 
pro illis !” 

His lips moved still in prayer, his hands clasped 
together, the very sweat standing on his brow from 
the extremity of his anguish. 

Aftfer a while, he returned, as it were, to himself, 
and looked round. Observing me again, as I stood 
staring on him, doubtful what to say or do, he ad- 
dressed me nearly in his usual manner. 

“My dear child,” says he, as he calmed down 
again, “you have never seen this before: that is be- 
cause I have withdrawn myself, that none should ob- 
serve it. You know now, what it is that possesses 
my whole soul. ’Tis my vision by day, and dream 
hy night. A voice is ever sounding in mine ears : it 
says, ‘ Come over to Toonati-nooka, and help us.’* 
Do not think,” he went on, smiling at me, for I 
stared upon him all the while, at a loss what to 
think ; “ do not suppose I am beside myself. I never 
was more in my right wits ; and that you shall see, 
when we return to the rest. I shall be calmer now, 
for having told you what is in my heart : hencefor- 
ward, we can discuss it together, and see what is to 
be done.” 


Sec X71., 9, to which, apparently, the priest refers. 
He might also have had in his mind “the voices of the 
Irish, which Saint Patrick heard by some supernatural com- 
munication, urging him to come and teach tiiem the truth 


THS CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


395 


And you would leave us !” cried I, trai sported 
beyond myself with grief at the thought : “ O father ! 
just when we are learning, through ^ou, to love 
God ; when you have brought us some steps forward 
on the good way, you will leave the plants you have 
planted and watered 1 leave the sheep you have 
brought into the fold I” 

“ You may well believe,” answered he, struggling 
with himself, “ I should not leave you all without 
pain ; but there is one great sentence, the constant 
motto and motive of a great saint, which expresses 
the rule we should follow in all such matters.” 

“And what is that?” asked I, fearing, I hardly 
knew what. 

“ All to the geeater glory of God,” said he. 
Then he added, with vigor : “ Why should we not 
aH go together? Or, if that w'ould overload the 
boats, shall we draw lots to see who goes and who 
stays on the first voyage of discovery ; and they who 
go, promise to bring back the boats within a reason- 
able time ?” 

In short, soon after we came again to the rest, the 
priest proposed to them that a certain number, with 
himself, should take two of the boats, and set forth 
on a voyage of discovery to Toonati-nooka. It 
might, he said, have several advantages; for savages, 
living in the state our Indians had described to us, 
would be likely to welcome civilized white men, with 
whom they were not at war, nor had any cause of 
quarrel, and who could teach them the useful arts of 
Ufe. Should they find the country enriched with 
veins of silver or gold (as was more than likely), 


m 


THB ADTBNTURES OP OWEN JETANS, 


then, he said, they might receive a benefit no less 
than confer one : only, in that case, he insisted that 
they must dfeal fairly with the inhabitants ; not exact 
more from them than was just, nor attempt, by 
crooked means, to get the upper hand, like some dis- 
coverers who have dishonored the Christian name by 
their treatment of the heathen to whom they went. 
For himself, he had one object in going; and ’t would 
be his care to choose among them those who were 
not likely to thwart it ; he professed, he gave them 
all credit for upright intentions, but even among the 
good, some might be bettermost, etc. 

After this address, for which he assembled us all 
before night prayers that evening, Don Manuel said 
he would wish none to give an answer till our devo- 
tions were concluded the following morning, that we 
might both pray on it, and sleep on it ; inasmuch as 
“ he who goeth slowly, goeth securely.” Accord- 
ingly, the men, whispering together by their watch- 
fires, came to different conclusions, according to their 
several temperaments, or experience in chances and 
hardships. Some were for going, to seek fresh ad- 
ventures; others would sooner stay quiet where they 
found themselves: but these were chiefly the vet- 
erans, who were so beaten with the storms of life, 
they had learned to set a value on repose and com- 
fort. Kor, indeed, could I blame them ; seeing that 
(to human reckoning) ’twas a wild-goose chase that 
he was now preparing. The priest had his own 
motives, we all knew, and went simply to save souls ; 
as for the rest, what they went for, but a spirit of 
roving adventure, remained locked in their own 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


397 


bosoms ; and so, whether ’twere folly or wisdom, I 
pretend not to judge. 

But the end of it was, next morning, fourteen of 
the ship’s company, with two of our Englishmen, 
that is, trill and Hilton, volunteered to go. 


CHAPTER LXVII 

PREPARATIONS THERETO. 

Hereupon, we spent many days in making pro- 
vision for their departure. First we gave them the 
long boat and shallow to carry them : or, I should 
rather say, we lent these to the expedition ; for in 
truth they belonged still to the wreck, and so to the 
Spanish government, according to the articles of our 
treaty. However, Don Manuel, who I am sure was 
somethmg more in consideration, or office, than he 
seemed, told us we need be under no concern on that 
score ; that should any of our party arrive in Europe, 
or other Spanish ship touch here, we had but to 
mention the name by wliich we knew him, and that 
he was our fellow-passenger in ihQ Enterprise for part 
of the passage, and we should find it all right. 

This being arranged, we would only take ten of 
those who had volunteered, putting four back, though 
gently, on the score of their weaker health ; ^ for we 
shall have to rough it, friends,” said he, “ on the 
open sea, with changes of weather, and even if we 
arrive, it may be in sorry plight.” He added, that 


398 THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN EYANB, 

in case of their provisions running short, *twas i 
main matter to have as few mouths to feed on the 
great wide ocean as might be. Above all, he bade 
us remember, there were three amongst us who bad 
best right of all to take their choice, whether they 
would go or stay, namely, the Indians, to whom the 
opportunity was now given, to get back to their 
own native land. So, turning to them, he put the 
choice before them, one by one, beginning with the 
old man, Poulafaihe, 

’Twas a touching thing to behold the struggles in 
these poor Indians, when they heard Tadoone was 
going to seek the home whence they came. On the 
one hand, they had become truly attached to us, 
and were the most faithful, simple creatures I ever 
knew of ; with no thought but to please us, to whom 
they owed their lives, and the priest, to whom they 
owed their faith. On the other hand, their ties of 
blood were strong ; we had never asked them ques- 
tions about Toonati-nooka without seeing how they 
clung to the memory of those they had left there, and 
the hope of seeing them again. 

Pounder, as it appeared, had been lefl friendless in 
this world ; his father, elder brother, two uncles, and 
a cousin, had all been killed in a battle with the 
warriors of another tribe, and indeed another island 
or country, who came, he told us, in eight war 
canoes, about twenty-seven moons (so he reckoned) 
before he was thrown on our island. These savages 
made a descent on that part of the coast where John 
Pounder (who was then Rer-mimbolamba) lived with 
his family and near neighbours in a small village ; 


THK CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


399 


here, paddling quietly along the coast, in a dark 
night, they surprised the inhabitants in their sleep. 
But I must not run from one story into another; 
only to say that the warriors of the village, taken 
thus at unawares, made a fruitless resistance, though 
a desperate one : the greater part of them were killed 
outright, some few, when they saw all was lost, 
escaped into the woods, carrying off some of their 
children, with their wives ; and so, striking up by 
difficult paths known to themselves, got so far into 
the country the conquerors dared not follow them. 
But these were very few out of the number; our 
friend John being one of them, though with a wound 
on his neck, of which he showed us the deep scar. 

The greater part of the men were killed (you might 
say) over and over again, being savagely mangled 
as they lay, and the women and children carried off 
as slaves. Only Rere-mime’s wife (as the poor 
fellow told us, the tears standing in his eyes) refus- 
ing to leave her hut, clung so fast round the pole of 
it, they could not get her away ; so, dragging her by 
the hair of her head, but to no purpose, at last, they 
pierced her with their spears. This was John 
Pounder’s history in brief ; which explained why he 
was most willing of the three to stay with us, and 
finally chose it. 

As for the other two Indians, ’twas both a hap- 
piness to themselves to go, and a benefit to the 
expedition, for they would serve as interpreters, not 
for the language alone, whereof Tadoone also had 
made himself master, but (still more) for mannen 
and customs, to report what would make him accept- 


400 THE ADTENTUKKS OF OWEN BYAN8) 

able in his mission, or might arm their countrymen’! 
minds against him. But all three, with the rest, 
began with equal zeal to help in the preparations : 
which consisted chiefly in a stock of such dried 
provisions as we could store the boats with, as well 
as refitting the boats themselves, to get them into 
condition with sail, oars and rudder. 

All this took some time j for though we were now 
reinforced with hands enough, we had no carpenter ; 
the carpenter on board fbm Spanish ship, and carpen- 
ter’s mate, both having died early in their distresses. 
Had they been saved alive, I truly think we had 
made an attempt to build a large boat out of the 
fragments of the wreck, all rotten though she was, 
and fitted out an expedition of our whole colony ; so 
greatly did it go against us to part company with 
any of our comrades. Besides this, we had a natural 
curiosity to see the country they were going to : of 
which old Mark and the rest gave us great accounts 
in many ways. However, ’twas no use to talk or 
wish, for the boats would not hold more than the 
number told off for them ; at least to be safe for a 
boat voyage on the open sea. 

For victualling the expedition, ’twas clear no 
provisions were to be looked for from the wreck, in 
which was not one crumb of biscuit to be found, nor 
a single morsel of pork, nor anything else in the way 
of food. But we got on shore a small mill-stone set 
with a rude handle ; though clumsily enough, yet it 
would work : and we made it do service to grind our 
com, and bruise a quantity of yams and bread-fruit 
to a pulp. We mixed this with our wheat-flour, and 


THE OATHOLIO CRUSOE. 


401 


kneaded it up well, worked it pretty dry, then rolled 
it out in sheets, cut them into lengths, basked them 
by a slow fire, and presented the expedition with a 
store of wholesome, well tasted biscuit, such »8 
many a ship’s company would be glad to come by 
on a voyage. Beside this, we smoked and salted a 
quantity of our native pork, together with some wild 
geese and other large sea-birds ; we stowed all this 
in three barrels, among those the Bermiona had 
carried her stores in, and got two into the large boat, 
and one into the small ; also, four tubs of fresh water, 
well caulked and secured. 1 gave them my fishing 
lines, doubling them for the deep-sea fishery ; to- 
gether with the rod, which I judged might be useful 
when they landed, though not at sea. On second 
thoughts, it ended by our giving them one of our 
best fishing nets besides; for thus we put them 
beyond any chance of falling short of provender. 

Next came the ordnance department, to furnish 
them with weapons of defence : and here, knowing 
how great advantage the use of gunpowder gives to 
the civilized man over the strongest savage, we re- 
solved to be liberal in our grants to them. Indeed, 
it was only bestowing on them what was already (in 
one sense) their own. So we rolled down to the 
boats one barrel of gunpowder, whole and untouch- 
ed, besides more than half of another, which the 
water had got at, and spoiled, as we thought at the 
time : but spreading it on a sail-cloth to the sun, then 
rubbing it betwixt our fingers, we found, by several 
trials in our muskets, the grain was quite dried, and 
took fire as well as what was untouched by the sea. 


402 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Then, for fire-arms, we gave them a musket a-pieoe, 
with two or three to spare : two pistols and a cutlass 
to each man j nine pikes (what with our own bam- 
boos, and some that were saved from the ship), and 
four boarding-axes to serve as wood-hatches as well 
as weapons. 

Their greatest want now was a compass ; but that 
we saw no way to supply them with, there being 
none known of on board, after the accident of the 
ship’s compass being washed away. At last, by 
great good luck, or a providence rather, we discover- 
ed a small pocket-compass at the bottom of a case of 
mstruments, such as buring-glasses, and one or two 
implements of surgery and optics, that had belonged 
to one Don Garcia Kunez, doctor of medicine and 
man of science, to whom the Spanish Government 
had given a passage, for the sake of some observa- 
tions he was to make on his way to Santiago j but 
he took to his berth and died, while the Hermiona 
was beating through the Straits Le Maire. This 
whole case of instruments we put on board for them ; 
all but a scalpel or so, and some lint and bandages* 
which I kept back to serve our needs. 

In a word, we gave them whatever may turn to 
use, whether to defend themselves from savages, or 
cultivate their friendship, and astonish them with ’the 
civilized inventions of Europe. Each man, too, had 
a double set of clothing complete, to fence him from 
the cold ; moreover, as we found means to get at 
■ome of the officers’ chests, we rigged five or six of 
them out in uniform laced coats, and all the bravery 
we could invent, of hats and feathers, shoulder-knoti 


TH« CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


403 


»nd brocade ; knowing such things to impress ig- 
norant minds with the importance of the wearer ^. 


CHAPTER LXVHL 

DEPAKTURE. 

’Twas a disappointment to us, and a certain loss 
to the expedition, that we could not come at some of 
the bales stowed away in the Hermiona’s hold ; for 
she carried (as the lieutenant had told us) some Span- 
ish fabrics, and English stuffs besides, for barter with 
the Indians of Chili, or other parts of the South 
American coast. Some few of these, ’tis true, we 
managed to get up, by dint of hard diving ; but in 
general they were so carefully stowed, and so deep 
in the hold, they were beyond our utmost efforts. 
What we got were only some inferior stuffs, as we 
should reckon them in Europe ; though, to be sure, 
they were prizes to us in our need ; we looked on 
ourselves as very self-denying, to yield up the bales 
to be stowed in the boats for barter with the sav- 
ages. 

We still, to be sure, had the ship with us, as a 
mine from which to draw more of that kind of wealth 
after the expedition was gone. But what was more 
to the purpose, we set about to provide them am- 
munition ; though here we had difficulty enough, the 
magazine and powder-room both lying deep under 
water (being in the hold itself) as made us all but 


404 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

hopeless to secure them any powder. At last, by 
much toil, taking turn and turn about with the Span- 
iards in diving (wherein some of them were expert), 
we secured, as I partly said before, two barrels and 
five bags of powder, but all spoiled (so we thought) 
by the sea ; or wetted at least. But by spreading it 
out in the sun, as thin as we could spread it on a 
sail-cloth, with turning and sifting it several times 
during the day, then brushing or grinding it with 
much caution, in the small hand-mill found on board, 
we contrived to save more of it than we thought at 
first.* Only, we were careful to grind it by very 
little at a time, lest any should take fire in the mill, 
and blow us to atoms : but the parcels were so small, 
though they took fire once or twice, ’twas like a flash 
in the pan, and they did us no harm. And thus we 
were able to save at least four-fifths of serviceable 
powder out of all we got from the wreck. As to what 
lay deeper in the hold, we gave up all hope of coming 
at that ; nor in truth did we much need it. 

Everything was now got ready for their departure ; 
and, since ’twas determined on, and the weather fa- 
vouring, with a fair breeze from w.n.w. (such as we 
made out by the Indians, and our own observations, 
would be almost abaft for their voyage), no reason 
appeared why they should not cast off the rope, and 
get out to sea. Yet we kept them, and they lingered 

♦ There is some repetition here, as well as a discrepancy 
jnth what was said about gunpowder towards the end of the 
last chapter But the former may be accounted for by the 
peat importance of this article to Owen and his coinpan- 
latter by the general carelessness of his writing 


THE OATHOLIO CKUSOE. 


405 


A couple of days after this, under one pretence or 
other; now adding some stores, now stowing them 
away neater in the boats, freshening the water and 
vegetables, caulking also the boats themselves 
(though they were quite sea-worthy) : in short, any- 
thing to persuade our own minds and theirs, they 
were not delaying without reason. For in this peace- 
ful exile of ours, sweetened by religion and our kind, 
cheerful Tadoone, we had come to have no other 
thought, and scarce another wish than tu lay our 
bones together in the island when our time should 
come. 

But Don Manuel’s zeal, with all his patience, would 
bear no delay beyond those two days, nor scarcely 
that : so on the third morning early, having said the 
last Mass he ever said (to our knowledge) on As- 
sumption Isle, and strengthened us all by Holy Com- 
munion (for part of our two days’ preparation had 
been spent by all our small community going to con- 
fession for this purpose), we made him a farewell 
feast by way of breakfast, which had been a dismal 
meal enough, but that he strove to cheer us. 

“ I am not going to preach to you,” my dearest 
children,” says he, “ for the tiine is now come to act ; 
we must fall back on all those lessons of resignation 
and courage we have striven to practise here together. 
Have we not proved to ourselves, in many ways, the 
only blessed thing is to do the will of God, and re- 
sign ourselves to what He appoints or permits ? Now, 
there can be no question, that Holy Will is taking 
us away, and bidding you remain. What will come 
of it all, is more than I can see ; but ‘ we walk by 


406 THE ADTENTUMI 01 OWEN EVANS, 

faith, not by sight.’ As we are bidden to pray, each 
day, for our daily bread, so it is always enough, on 
our pilgrimage, to see the one next step. This I now 
see, thanks to His providence, that makes it possible. 
Did I not fully hope to come back to you within a 
dhort time, I would not leave you at all : we would 
stay, or go together. , But go you cannot ; nor would 
you all be willing. Go I must, for I never cease to 
hear myself called. What remains, then, but that 
we should go, and yom should stay, as they who are 
seeking the happiness of doing the will of our great 
and good Master ?” “ I am no prophet,” he pre- 

sently added (smiling through his tears, for he was 
much overcome), “ yet something tells me, though I 
know not how, you will not be left long wdthout a 
priest and without a Sacrifice.” 

We listened to him, wild-looking and grisly sav- 
ages as we had grown (in outward appearance), with 
the tears running down our rough cheeks and beards. 
’Twas of no use to restrain, or attempt to hide them ; 
we were subdued to the tenderest grief at thus losing 
our spiritual father, and our brethren besides. When 
he had finished speaking, Tadoone rose up; we 
crowded round him, some on our knees, and caught 
hold on his garments, his hands ; we kissed his very 
hat and breviary in the passionateness of our grief. 
He embraced us all with that fatherly tenderness he 
had ever shown us ; then pointing to the sun, re- 
minded us ’twas full time to depart. He gave us his 
solemn blessing with a voioe choked by emotion; and 
without another word, gently freed himself from oi 
all, and led the way down to the boats. 


THl CATHOLIC CBUSOS. 


407 


The rest of the men tore themselves away from 
their brethren as best they might, Indian from In- 
dian, Spaniard from Spaniard, with great evidence of 
feeling at the separation. As for Hilton and Gill 
they were moved, too, but in a soberer way, after 
the manner of our nation, that doth not (it may be) 
feel the less deeply because ’tis slower to manifest it. 
In fine, they now jumped into the boats briskly, to 
get rid of sad thoughts ; then hoisting sails, they be- 
gan to sing the Litany our good priest had taught 
us, and steered out into the offing. For though^ as 
belonging to different nations, and those at war with 
one another, they could not sing any such national 
sea-song as most sea-faring countries possess of their 
own (since what was loyal in one part might be con- 
strued into an offence to the other), yet, being Cath- 
olics together, they could freely use what belonged 
to them in common, as members of the great family 
of the Church, and spoke not of the interests of time, 
but of eternity. 

We, who remained, kneeled on the shore till they 
had pulled so far away (the wind also setting off 
shore) as that all sound of their voices was lost to 
us ; then we stood up, straining our eyes to catch the 
latest glimpse of them. One of the last things we 
saw was, Don Manuel stood up in the stern of the 
long-boat, and stretched forth his arms towards 
heaven, to invoke upon us a farewell blessing. At 
this, we dropped on our knees again, and wept like 
children, to think he was gone for a time so long and 
uncertain, leaving us orphans behind him. And so, 
when the boats looked like mere specks on the sea, and 


408 


THl ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


then disappeared altogether, for the wind continued 
fair, and afterwards blew a breeze, we left the shore 
in much sorrow, and loitered about the rest of that 
day, not settling down to anything. We ate a cheer- 
less supper ; then I said night prayers (for I acted 
from that time as a sort of lay chaplain,) and we 
went to rest early, to sleep away as much of our 
grief as we might. 

’T was a strange thing indeed for us to wake next 
morning and find no Tadoone, no meditation, nor 
Mass. But, that being our condition for many a 
long day after, I need not dwell on what we became 
used to by degrees : only to record, that all things 
went on with us, orderly enough ; though we felt dull 
in our spirits, and could not be reconciled to our 
great loss, Neither did our tempers improve under 
the change ; and Dick Prodgers, though he never re- 
turned to be what he was before the Faith was given 
him, yet now and then showed (as I may say most 
of us did, some more, some less) how weak a poor 
creature is man, when he is not supported above 
himself by sacramental grace. This, indeed, Tadoone 
had warned us of, beseeching us with tears, to keep 
ourselves in the good dispositions he left us in. Nor, 
truly, was it the disposition that failed us, so much 
as the execution of what we had resolved on ; for the 
“ spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.” 

We came round again soon, after these little out- 
breaks, which never grew to any real breach of the 
peace : only they gave us discomfort, making us out 
of sorts with ourselves, even while we forgave one 
another. So that, with all our outward security and 


THl CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


409 


prosperous condition, we would often range up and 
down the shore, and like very children, stretched 
our aims over the sea, and yearn for Tadoone to 
come back to us again. 


CHAPTER LXIX 

THE ERUPTION. 

But these moods were broken in upon, and our 
life on the island took a new direction (or was cut 
short, rather,) by something of the most unlooked- 
for kind, that chanced within ten days after. I say, 
’t was unlooked-for, truly ; for though we might 
reasonably expect savages, or another ship to touch 
at our prison-house and take us off again, or pirates, 
to attack us, we never forecast the strange event I am 
now to relate. 

The mountain that lay to northward of our cave 
(though T knew it to have been once on a time burn- 
ing, indeed we always called it the volcano,) had 
looked to us as still and motionless as any other part 
of the place. If ever I thought on the scene of 
devastation it had been formerly, ’t was much as we 
think of ancient history, the wars of Caesar, or the 
Danes. I little thought, at least, the same convul- 
sions were to spring out from it anew in our times ; 
still less could I prophesy what good that would 
minister to us. 

All this is putting (as they say) the cart before the 


410 THE ADVENTURES OE OWEN EVANS, 

horse ; and, to begin this part of my narrative, 1 
must record that, for some days, the air had felt sultry 
beyond the common, and the water in the spring that 
supplied our conduit from Riverhead had grown less. 
W e knew not why ; for ’t was the first time this 
happened during our exile; winter and summer, 
’t was always flowing. Besides, the water that now 
came was not only scant, but troubled, and had a 
bad sulphurous taste and smell, that made it unpal- 
atable, and (we thought) unwholesome. At last, 
one day it ceased altogether : we took this for a 
stoppage in the pipe ; but going to the spring to 
discover the cause, we found it as dry as the very 
mountain itself. 

This disturbed us much, not only for the want of 
water (though that was a want indeed), but from ap- 
prehension of what it might portend ; for I had read, 
and one of the Spaniards confirmed it from his expe- 
rience of the South American coast, that before such 
burning mountains as we know of, for example, Ve- 
suvius, and others, break into an eruption, the wells 
in the district are used to run dry. I suppose, by 
some alteration in the earth’s veins, the water finds 
its way downward in place of upward ; and, turning 
to hot vapour, adds to the force of the volcano ; or, 
by the increased heat of the mountain when ’tis about 
to discharge its fiery streams, the neighboring springs 
become sucked and dried up, as water is, if poured 
into the heated grate of a chimney. 

Anyhow (for I write of it more coolly than I 
witnessed it at the time) our mountain began mean- 
while to groan in a way most dreadful to hearken 


THB OATHOLIO 0RU80S. 


411 


to ; rumbling beneath us, much as I have known a 
heavily loaded wagon to shake the houses on either 
side of a narrow street. For the very earth shook, 
as we thought ; notwithstanding we were fain to 
persuade ourselves ’t was our fears suggested it 
The air, too turned to an oppressive dryness and 
heat, that well nigh took away our breathing ; and 
all was so heavy and so still, the very birds seemed 
to feel it as we did; for though at first they flew 
round and round, screaming and bewildered, yet soon 
they betook them to the trees, and there perched in 
silence, as not knowing what was to come. We 
noticed some animals, too, roaming about quite rest- 
less, and heard them cry out each after its fashion, 
as if in distress and fear. 

For ourselves, we stood all together on the open 
shore, clear of rocks and trees, to give our lives the 
best chance, if indeed this should prove an earth- 
quake, as we had foreboded. We knew not what 
else to do at the moment, to save ourselves ; fearing 
to go towards our cave, or storehouse, lest we might 
be smothered in it by the roof falling in : fearing 
also to make for the boat, which lay tossing at hei 
moorings ; for by this time the sea had risen, with a 
strange, irregular tide, as though it were convulsed 
from beneath : and we expected every moment to see 
our boat stove on the rocks. And thus we stood, in 
such an agony of doubt and apprehension, as, I think, 
oppresses most men, when they can do nothing 
towards their own deliverance, but must wait and 
look on at a great danger, and let it take its course, 
even if that be over their mangled bodies. 


412 


THl ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


I Bay, we stood thus ; but I should add that first 
one, then another, dropped on their knees, and began 
to pray fervently to heaven for help. At last, there 
was notone that joined not in this act; though there 
was, indeed, no unity in the words of our prayer, for 
some prayed one thing, some another : here one 
would make an act of hearty contrition, and cry out 
to heaven for a priest ; there, another would resign 
himself into the hands of God, to live or die : on this 
side was a man who vowed what he would do, did 
he but escape with bfe : on that side was his comrade, 
struck dumb, and able to do nothing but quake for 
very fear. 

But there was unity enough in the intention, for 
we all prayed with our hearts for deliverance out of 
this great danger, so sudden and awful. For my 
part, though I write calmly of it now, looking back 
on it through years of other adventures I afterwards 
went through, I bring to mind (as if it were yester- 
day) the overmastering sense that seized on me of 
the awfulness of God’s judgments when His hand 
launches the arrows of vengeance, or when He speaks 
in the thunders of His majesty ; also, the comfort it 
was then to me, though trembling as a sinner before 
Him, to reflect, I had used the grace given me to 
repent, while there was time. For now, while we 
all seemed on the brink of such a grave, had the 
great work of salvation been to commence, I had 
been tempted or driven to dispair. But now I re- 
called my past confessions : I besought mercy for any 
hidden things that might be unconfessed, because, 
after all search, unremembered ; I renewed my con- 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


413 


trition ; I thanked my God for His graces bestowed 
on me, resigned my life and my soul into His fatherly 
hands, and then did my best to awaken such thoughts 
and pour this comfort into the souls of my comrades 
likewise. 

While we thus did what we could for ourselves 
and one another, on a sudden, there came the most 
fearful trembling and upheaving of the ground be- 
neath us, that ever (I believe) was experienced by 
mortal man. It seemed as if the whole island were 
being wrenched from its base and some power below 
were going to fling it on one side. All that part of 
the coast rocked to and fro ; the sea at the same time 
ran high, and boiled over like a cauldron, washing 
up so near us, as made it seem an even chance 
whether we were to be swallowed by earth or ocean. 

We reeled and staggered, like so many drunken 
men, catching hold on each other for support : but 
this had not lasted as long as I have taken to describe 
it, when a more violent heave flung us on our faces, 
with a strange, whirling motion that partly spun us 
round : so that, old seamen as most of us were, used 
to short, chopping seas and counter-currents, this 
made us feel as sea-sick as a landsman in his first 
gale of wind. 

Before we recovered our legs (which we scarce 
attempted, as not knowing whither to flee, thinking 
it best to lie there) we heard the crashing of the 
rocks about our cave, by which we judged the cave 
itself to have fallen in : as afterwards we found to 
be too true. At the same time, some large pieces of 
rock, that were loosened from the top of our clifE^ 


414 THE ADYENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

came rolling towards us and threatened to crush ue 
at every bound. But even this was not so great a 
danger as the noisome, sulphurous vapour that rose 
out of a deep cleft in the ground, not many yards 
from where we lay, confused and giddy; it volleyed 
forth upon us, like the smoke from the broadside of 
a ship when all her guns are discharged at once, but 
with so insupportable a stench of brimstone as had 
taken away our very lives, did we remain there a 
moment longer. I called on my companions, half- 
stifled as I was, to rise and run for their lives ; indeed, 
our only chance was to rise to our full height, and 
let this heavy, creeping vapour spread out along the 
ground, while we ran before it. But some of our 
number were, by this time so stunned and amazed 
by all these new and awful things coming upon us in 
a heap, we had much ado tc pull them up and put 
them in motion. Whether the fumes of this vapour 
had mounted to their brain, stupifying them, or 
whether fear alone had quelled their animal spirits, 
some of them begged us to let them lie there, and die 
in peace. And as for one of the men, named Ruy 
Perez, he was so far gone in this fatal drowsiness, 1 
thought we should never have gotten him up, nof 
yet brought him round. 


«ai CATHOLIC OBU801. 


41 » 


CHAPTER LXX 

DEATH IN MORE SHAPES THAN ONE. 

We made the best of our way out of this rolling 
vapour, till at last we got clear of it, on to a little 
jutting promontory that made us safe from the lash 
of the sea; for it boiled with exceeding violence, 
though there was next to no wind stirring. When 
we all got safe on to this point, we seemed to have 
been conducted thither by some purpose of Provi- 
dence, to make us beholders of the most awful, stu- 
pendous sight the eye of man could well behold, 
short of tlie last Judgment. There came another 
rumbling from beneath, but not so directly under our 
feet as the first, with a sound like the falling of one 
heavy bar of metal on another; and this sound came 
repeated four or five times. Then, on a sudden, an 
explosion like the roar of artillery (only far louder, 
and enough to crack the drums of our ears, as seamen 
have been deafened in a battle) came from the moun- 
tain itself, and the whole island seemed to tremble 
again : even the point of land whereon we were, 
rocked and heaved, till we thought it would have 
fallen into the sea, with us upon it. I could not 
have counted ten after this explosion, when a pillar 
of smoke rose up direct from a great cleft riven in the 
side of the mountain, nearer the top than the base, 
and towered into the air, more like a tall palm-tree* 

* A curious coincidence of expression with the younger 
Pliny’s account of tlie eruption of Vesuvius which over- 
whelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii, a.d. 79. “ On the 28rd 


416 


THB ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

than anything I can liken it to beside. It was fol- 
lowed by a shower of red-hot st^ones that went up 
like so many rockets, the smaller ones in great num- 
bers, shooting into the pillar of smoke, then falling 
far into the sea, as well as nearer ; the larger went a 
little way in the air, then fell, and rolled down the 
mountain, chiefly towards where we stood. 

Ours was now a post of no little danger; and, 
besides the stones falling all round, there rained 
down upon us such a fine sand, or ashes, out of the 
cloud (that w^as, indeed, composed of it) as nearly 
took away our breath again, together with the suflb- 
cating heat of the air itself. But what was our grief, 
when the greater number of the stones fell (though 
they were shot out afterwards, too, from time to 
time), to see one of the poor Spaniards, Gutierre 
Vasquez by name, stricken down at our side, by a 
stone that took him on the head, so that he never 
spoke after ; and another, Melchor Baeza, an oldish 

of August,” he says, writing to Tacitus, “ about one in the 
afternoon, my mother desired him ” (the elder Pliny, who 
was commanding the fleet at Misenum, in the bay of Naples) 
“ to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size 
and shape. He immediately arose, and went out upon an 
eminence, from which he might more distinctly view this 
very uncommon appearance. At that distance, it was not 
discernible from what mountain this cloud issued ; but it was 
afterwards found to ascend from Mount Vesuvius. I cannot 
give you a more exact description of its figure, than by re- 
sembling it to that of a pine-tree ; for it shot up a great hight 
in the form of a trunk, which extended itself at the top into 
a sort of branches ; occasioned, I imagine, either by a sudden 
gust of air that impelled it, the force of which decreased as it 
advanced upwards ; or the cloud itself being pressed back 
again by its own weight, expanded in this manner. It ap- 
peared sometimes bright, and sometimes dark and spotted 
as it was more or less impregnated with earth and cinders 
Plin. EpUt., lib. v:. 16 


THR OATHOLIO CRUSOE. 


417 


marine, hit so sharply with a stone that rehounded 
from the rock he stood on, as toppled him into the 
deep sea beneath our feet, and strangled him in the 
water, though the force of the blow alone was enough 
to despatch him. 

At another time, we should have mourned at 
leisure for these untimely deaths among our com- 
rades ; but at that very hour, the same fate seemed 
hanging momently over our own heads ; and ’twas 
strange how much a matter of course the death oi 
others appeared to us, when we might any instant 
expect our own. By this, we were wrapped round 
in the dark, sulphurous cloud, so thick and intoler- 
able with the smell and taste of brimstone, we had 
all been smothered on the spot, had we not crammed 
our hats or neckerchiefs into our faces to escape its 
deadly choke. All at once, out of the darkness there 
flashed a brilliant light : tlien, the mountain all the 
while thundering and groaning like a live creature 
in direful pain, a sheet of liquid rock, or lava, ap- 
peared mounting over the brim of the crater, like 
glue or pitch boiling over j and began to descend in 
a broad fiery stream to where we stood. In its 
course, it swallowed up or surmounted every obstacle ; 
it swelled over the rocks, and poured down them 
again; set the groves and bushes that lay on our 
path in a blaze ; and, what with the roar of the con- 
flagration, the crackling and hissing of this flood of 
fire, the groans and thunders of the mountain beyond, 
and the howl of the wind and sea, that had now 
both risen high, I could almost think the Last Day 
itself had truly come. 


418 THB ADYINTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

We stood rooted to the spot, without power to fly, 
as if we were spell-bound by the terror of this awful 
scene : till (too late) we found we were quite encom- 
passed, part by the fire, that ran swiftly among the 
dry trees and underwood, part by the advance of 
this molten flood of lava, that came on at such a 
pace as an active man could walk, and spread itself 
out broader as it reached the level space between 
mountain and sea. It were madness now to attempt 
to flee either way ; for northward of our rock was 
the red-hot lava, much like a sea of iron running 
out of a furnace, bearing on its surface biggish stones 
and pieces of rock, well nigh as red-hot as itself : and 
if we turned our eyes to south, we were met by the 
sight of a thick belt of wood, all a-blaze, whereinto 
had we rushed, we had been so many suicides leap- 
ing on then’ funeral pile. 

Which way could we now turn to escape so fright- 
ful a death ? Two choices were before us : the rock, 
or the sea. Should we stay through the frying heat, 
or swim for it ? As I proposed the question to my 
remaining comrades (poor Melchor and Gutierre be- 
ing gone already), on looking down into the water 
beneath our feet, we found a ready answer to the 
question, that filled us with horror, and drove us all 
but to despair. For though the sea (as I have said) 
was now risen, and began to boil up from below, we 
could plainly discover the fins of two or three large 
sharks (the reef being more open hereabout, easier to 
steer through) plying up and down. 

These monsters were drawn hither (no doubt) by 
the blaze, and seemed to enjoy the warmth of the 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


419 


Eea : but they kept eyeing us all the while, too, as if 
they saw a double advantage in keeping so near ; and 
we could not doubt they had already made half a 
supper on our companion, Baeza. ’Tw*as plain, 
from that moment, our only clmnce was to keep on 
the rock, and endure the suffocating heat as best we 
might. This now waxed so intense, as I doubt if 
any iron-forger was ever called on to face a much 
greater ; and to us, who were unused to anything of 
the kind, it seemed out of the question to stand it 
out longer, but we must brave the sharks, and cast 
us down, from sheer necessity of cooling our over- 
scorched selves, into the sea. I forgot to say, by 
this time ’twas night ; and, had we been at a safe 
distance, nothing could have been now grander than 
to witness this great spectacle ; for the light from 
the mountain shot far up into the darkness over- 
head ; the wreaths of red smoke curling along the 
sky to leeward, with large stones ever and again 
shot out, like hot shells out of a battery of bombs : 
and fresh lava, at a white heat (so it seemed to us) 
pouring out still from the lip of that rent in the 
mountain, and all the trees on the island, so far as 
the eye could reach, in one great blaze. It is not 
for my pen to describe it : nor do I see how any one 
can imagine it that hath not seen the like. How- 
ever, at that time, though the majesty and terror of 
the sight struck into our hearts, we were taken up 
only by the thought, how we could live through 
such a furnace as was round us. 

At length, two of our number, Domingo Gonzalez 
and Fadrique Correa by name, poor fellows I both 


420 THB ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 

having been used to the Barbadoes trade, and to see 
how the negroes there will encounter the sharks that 
infest their coast, with only a knife, to plunge into 
the fish when he turns on his side to seize them ; 
they determined on 1!naking a like trial of their skilL 
Do what we would to persuade them of the madness 
of their adventure, they were not to be turned from 
it. No man, they said, could die more than once; 
and for their part, they had rather run the chance of 
being strangled in the water, or drowned outright, 
than wait to be smothered by the intolerable heat 
and noisome vapours where we were. Then I bade 
them remember, no man had a right to throw away 
his life, which was not his own property to dispose 
of, but a mere loan or talent, lent him for an ap- 
pointed time ; and this, I saw, had some effect on 
them, as Catholics, who had a clear view of an here- 
after : till they answered me again, they believed it 
to be the best chance for them after all : that if they 
could run the blockade, and clear these fish, or 
encounter them with advantage (for they had their 
seamen’s clasp-knives strung round their necks,) 
then were they in better case than we who stayed 
on the rock : and more to the same purpose. 

Seeing them not to be deterred from this mad 
scheme, it only remained to pray for their safety, in 
which I bade the rest unite with me ; and the two 
poor men joined in it themselves with great fervour. 
Then, making over their brows and hearts the sign 
of the cross, and commending themselves to God 
calling also on the Blessed Virgin and St. lago of 
Compostella, they drew their knives, and plunged 


THl CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


421 


feet foremost into the sea, crossing their feet, to 
cleave the water better, and rise again upright. But 
alas ! we saw too clearly, the moment after, what 
was the sad fate they had courted. For no sooner 
did we hear the splash of their fall, than we also saw 
these monstrous sharks plunge after them, and they 
never rose to the surface again : no, not so much as 
a limb, nor a shred of their garments, but all became 
the instant prey of those voracious bloodhounds. 

The sea, too, was boiling so wildly, I question il 
some under-current would not have carried the poor 
fellows away, or rolled them over and so drowned 
them, had no sharks been on the look out for them 
at all. 

This dreadful end of our rash comrades filled ua 
with horror ; and would have done so the more, but 
for our own fate before our eyes, which seemed to 
come nigher at every step, in the shape of fire. For 
all this while, the mountain continued to groan and 
bellow like some enraged wild beast, and poured out 
lava fresh and fresh, so that now it ran down the 
sides swifter than before. Only, we were comforted 
to see, this time it took a course more to the due 
south ; if I may call that comfort which threatened 
to destroy all our plantations which might have 
escaped hitherto, as well as block up the entrance to 
our cave itself. But the peril in which we were so 
swallowed up all other thoughts, we had no leisure 
now to care for our possessions, except only our dear 
lives. A moment after, there came another shock of 
earthquake, under our very feet, so that the point of 
cUfi[ whereon we stood, rocked and heaved beneath 


422 


THJI ADTBNTURBS 01 OWEN BTAN8| 

UB, to and fro. I thought we should have been all 
thrown into the sea together ; for several of us lost 
our footing, and we had to pluck one man back from 
falling straight over the edge. 

But see how the mercy of God ordereth events 
powerfully and sweetly; how all things work to- 
gether for good in the ways of His providence ! For 
this new danger, which did us no harm beyond the 
fright of it, was the means of delivering us from the 
fiery flood that advanced upon us vdth open jaws, to 
swallow us. When our rock ceased to tremble, 
looking forth again, as well we might, through the 
heavy sulphur-smoke, we saw the earthquake had 
made a great opening, or dyke, between us and the 
stream of lava ; and in a few minutes more, we heard 
it pouring heavily over the brink, down to the gulph 
in the earth below. At the same time the breeze, 
freshening, blew away partly this cloud of hot 
vapour that wrapped us round, and gave us a clear 
glimpse out to sea. 

Never may I forget (like an unthankful wretch, as 
I should be) what I felt when Prodgers, after shad- 
ing his eyes with his hand, cried out, “ Sail ho 1 to 
windward and all of us, eagerly turning our eyes 
thereaway, saw the red light of the volcano reflected 
9Q the sails of a ship ! 


THI OATHOLIO 0RU80B« 


423 


CHAPTER LXXL 

OUB DELIVERANCE. 

She was steering right in for the island, and soon 
hove-to, seeming fearful of venturing in nearer. We 
doubted not but they who commanded her were 
using their perspectives to view the eruption of our 
mountain. The hope of our near deliverance now 
animating us, we all rose of our full height, and 
waving our arms abroad, joined in one shout, as long 
and loud as we could make it. We learned from 
them afterwards, that being to windward they did not 
hear our shouting at all: but saw ourselves, which 
was more to the purpose ; for our forms were clearly 
traced to them against the light of the fire. They 
lowered their long-boat at once, and the crew pulled 
cheerily towards us : their steerage being marked 
out for them by the glow from the mountain and the 
burning woods ; though they, and we who waited 
for them with the utmost impatiencCj narrowly 
escaped death from the hot stones that volleyed forth 
at times from the crater. Indeed, one or two on 
both sides were hit, though not seriously, at least 
not to kill : at length they came up with us, and 
lying-to under lee of refuge, they threw up a rope 
to us. 

By help of this we lowered ourselves one by 
one into the boat ; and in good time truly, for the 
heat was become so intolerable now, I question if 
j»ny of us had lived another half hour. We went 


424 


THE ADTENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


to work carefully ; for a slip might have h iiided ua 
over to the tender mercies of our friends the sharks, 
who were prowling about, up and down, expecting 
another morsel from among us. 

Our men, twenty-nine m number, got down safely 
mto the boat : I was the last ; for having (from one 
cause or other) some authority among them, I thought 
it behoved me to be last, as the captain always is, 
on leaving a wreck. I did my best to secure the 
rope round a point of the rock, and weighted it w ith 
stones : notwithstanding it loosened as I went down, 
and I got a shrewd tumble on the boat’s thwarts, 
that had like to have broke my neck, and did lay me 
up for a week after ; though ’t was happy I fell into 
the boat, not among the sharks into the sea. 

We got safe on board ship, though I had to be 
hauled up the side in a whip, being not able to stir 
hand nor foot. She proved to be the GlorieuXy of 
thirty-six guns, commanded by Captain Dumontier, 
chartered from Brest, cruising in these latitudes with 
sealed orders, and not friendly to our flag. But, on 
the relation of our calamitous history, the captain, 
wdth the spirit of a brave, generous man, waived all 
distinction of race or flag, and took us on board in 
quality of passengers, to be set ashore at any point 
most convenient to us to make our way homewards, 
f To-morrow ” says ‘.his gallant seaman to us, “ we 
will speak, Messieurs, of your future plans : to-night, 
do me the honour to be my guests.” So after a 
hearty and hospitable supper, which the fatigues and 
great anxieties of the day made necessary to us, 
through exhaustion of our animal spirits, we turned 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


42d 


into our hammocks with thankful hearts and very 
short prayers. Meanwhile, the captain put the helm 
about, and stood off to a safe distance from the island, 
the wind now setting fresher in- shore. 

We were up again at day-break, to watch the pro- 
gress made in this destruction of our island ; for such, 
indeed, it proved, and nothing less, at least as regards 
the E. and s. sides of it. The lava had flowed on, 
while we slept, as some of the crew told us; for, be- 
side the watch, nearly all the ship’s company had 
staid out of their hammocks, best part of the nighty 
watching that great spectacle. As for ourselves, we 
were so clean exhausted with all we had gone 
through, I verily believe we could have slept through 
a salvo of artillery, or a general engagement. And 
truly, the noise from the mountain, at times, was not 
much less than that. 

But now, in the morning light, ’t was a desolate 
spectacle indeed : for the conflagration of our woods, 
having well nigh burnt itself out, presented such a 
view of bare and blackened trunks of trees, or stumps, 
with rocks split by the violent heat ; our stream, too, 
either dried up, or forced from its bed down some of 
the great rents or cracks in the ground, sending out 
its hot vapours, together with the sulphur, as it boil- 
ed below : altogether (I say) the prospect was in 
miniature what I suppose the great globe itself will 
be when “ the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
and the earth and the works on it shall be burnt up.” 

And here we saw an end to all our labours for 
four years past, at a stroke: not that we considered 


426 


THB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 


that SO much at the time, but were occupied wholly 
by the great deliverauce granted to us, against hope, 
both from the fiery mountain, and the banishment 
itself we had spent on our island. On this part of 
our adventure the French captain, when he heard 
our story from me (in my bad Spanish, for he spoke 
Spanish himself passable well,) wished us heartily 
joy of our liberation ; only, he said, he must perforce 
carry us partly on his own course, which was to 
Tobago : but promised, again, he would set us ashore, 
under a flag of truce, at any English plantation in 
the West Indian islands, which the chance of war 
made him able to touch at. But first he asked us, 
from our knowledge of the island, the likeliest place 
to find fresh water for his ship : on our telling him of 
that stream to westward where we had first so un- 
happily landed, he then wore the ship round, and 
gave the island a wide berth, for fear of the reefs we 
told him of: then, sending a man to the mast-head 
to help our piloting, the sea being very clear, it could 
plainly be seen from that height how the reefs ran 
under water. Thus in four tacks, and no more, we 
came in the afternoon oflT the mouth of that self-same 
channel into which the traitor Hopkins had sent the 
long boat with us poor victims of his treachery. 
When I remarked this to the captain (for we easily 
made out the opening in the rocks, by help of our 
perspective glasses,) he made to us his compliments 
again, on the mercies that had shielded us then from 
a violent death, and preserved us ever since. This 
was said too, more in particular, by the chaplain he 
had on board • being a French priest and a semina- 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


427 


nflt, of whom I might have much to say, but that 
these up and down memoirs have spun out too long 
a yarn already. In fine, the priest was a good man, 
and a kind one ; though, to be sure, we never felt 
towards him as to our father that brought us into the 
fold, ’t was a comfort to find ourselves again within 
reach of the ministries of the Church ; and we began 
to experience, from this very change of hands, the 
Catholic is always at home when he can have the 
privileges of that universal family he belongs to. 

It seems, this Captain Dumontier was known as a 
good Christian man, as he was also a first-rate sea- 
man ; and having some influence with the government 
of his country, had petitioned for a chaplain to sail 
wdth him on his voyage, when some of his craft were 
likelier to petition against anything so irksome to a 
wilful sinner as the presence of a priest : by which 
it came to pass, we had the blessing of Mass on board 
when the weather was fair ; nay (the priest being a 
good sailor, even in rough weather,) having a bit of 
a sea on did not hinder his being lashed to a bulk- 
head in the captain’s cabin by a rope that was long 
enough to let him both kneel and stand at a small 
altar there : so (like some of the early martyrs) he 
celebrated the Holy Sacrifice in bonds. Nor can I 
forget the first time I attended at Mass on board the 
Glorieux, how that prophecy, or hope, of our dear 
Don Manuel came into my mind, we should not be 
long without a priest and without a Sacrifice. 

I had well-nigh forgot that when we doubled the 
point that shut in Shark’s Cove at the south, and 
came within sight of the Spanish wreck, we found 


428 


IHB ADTENTUBBS OF OWEN EVANS, 


that by some upheavmg of the reef from below, thfi 
wreck had been thrown almost high and dry, and 
almost her own length (so we judged) nigher to land. 
Though this delayed us not on the watering expedi- 
tion (two of the ship’s boats being sent forward with 
the water-casks,) yet the capt;iin judged it worth while 
to board her, and overhaul her stores. We could 
now indeed, get down below the orlop-deck without 
hindrance, and so into the hold (with some little 
pumping of the bilge-water;) but we found little 
that was worth the carrying away. ’Tis true, she 
had more stuffs and other merchandize on board than 
was usual for a ship of war, as the Spanish lieutenant 
had explained, together with the reason why. But 
then, having been hastily packed, the bales of this 
merchandize of stuffs [as silks, cottons, and other 
wares] had loosened, so that the water had got at 
and spoiled a great part : and, though we got them 
out of the hold indeed, we found them so rotten as 
that they came in shreds when we handled them 
never so lightly. The same account may be given 
of the iron-ware and knick-knacks on board for bar- 
ter with the Americans ; for they were eaten with 
rust to that degree, we flung the greater part of them 
into the sea again. However, we saved some that 
had lain deeper, or been packed more tightly ; and 
we got out five or six bales in fairly good condition. 
These the captain took on board, as payment for the 
good turn he was doing us ; for though the brave 
man himself would gladly have done that, and more, 
without fee or reward [being the kind of frank, open- 
hearted creature who I had been foolishly taught 


THE CATHOLIC CRUiOE, 


429 


could not be found in that nation, and more like a 
British tar than a Mounseer^ as Harvey said,] yet he 
had others to consider beside himself : and in brief, 
we begged him to do it. 

But, to make a long story short, as ’tis time 
(though, while years creep on, that make men more 
talkative, I could turn scribbler, to the weariness of 
my readers) the captain, who was not the man to 
burn daylight, sent his boats in at once, and Poun- 
der with them, to show the way : then, having com- 
pleted his watering from what remained of that 
former abundant stream (for the greater part had 
been dried up by the volcano, too, or found some 
other channel amid the earthquake), and shipping on 
board what cocoa-nuts and other fruits were at hand, 
without long search, he stood off on his former course, 
making for the Caribbean Islands ; so that at sunset, 
on the 11th day of November, 1743, we took our last 
look of Assumption Isle from the main yards of the 
Glorieux; first, we gave three cheers that we were 
well away, then we said a thanksgiving with the 
good chaplain, for our merciful deliverance from 
such a hopeless exile. 

But truly, whether we improved our condition by 
thus going back into a world of danger, is more than 
I can pronounce on a review of our strange advent- 
ures ; or whether, in the light of eternity, it had not 
proved best for us to live and die in that secure re- 
tirement. However, since matters were so ordered, 
that our priest was taken from us first, and (with 
him) our best consolation, we had no fancy, any of 
us, to stay there lonely and deserted : had not this 


480 THB ADVINTURES OF OWEN ETANS, 

ihip, the harbinger of a kind Providence, touched at 
this place, we had found no other resource than look- 
ing out and praying for Don Manuel’s return. 

As to him, whether he ever did return, and the 
men with him, must now (I suppose) remain hid from 
us till the day when all things shall be made known. 
Sure I am, if ever he came back, it was for our sakes 
alone : wherefore, I rather hope that success in his 
mission detamed him; though I will believe no 
success, not even the conversion of all Toonati-nooki, 
could make him false to his promise, or careless of 
us, his children in the faith. He would have come, 
or leastways sent, to see after and fetch us off. And 
sometimes in my dreams, even now, after so manj 
years, I seem to see a war-canoe of Toonati-nooki 
but manned by Christians whom Tadoone has made 
so, steering in for Shark’s Cove, and the crew rowing 
up and down the island in search of us. And there 
is Tadoone himself, now grown gray-headed with 
labour and care, but with his kind smile and quiet 
ways, leading them to our cave (or the ruins of it) 
and Riverhead, and all the parts of the island where 
they would be likeliest to find us, and sorrowing to 
see no trace of us anywhere. But that is a dream 
only ; and I will end by another word on what did 
indeed befall us after. 


TH» CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


4S1 


CHAPTER LXXII. 

WHAT HAPPENED TO ITS ALL AFTER. 

To begin with old Dick Prodgers : his sea-going 
days being now" well-nigh over, and he stiffening 
with age, having learned also to love quiet, and (a« 
he said) to make up his soul, he no sooner landed at 
Tobago than he declined further adventures, and got 
employed in several offices about the port, from 
which he picked a comfortable living enough ; and I 
have little doubt he lived and died there, as good a 
Catholic as he had been on our island. Nor did his 
religion stand in his way in a colony like that, 
wherein men of all nations were to be found, as it 
would have done nearer home ; and that I found to 
my cost. So, beyond being now and then called a 
turn-coat by some ignorant fellow, who knew not 
which side his own coat was turned, nor if he wore 
any habit of religion on him at all, I well believe 
Dick Prodgers slipped through the rest of his life 
easily, and hath found, I trust, a better one beyond. 

Tom Harvey, the only other of our original English 
crew that we carried away with us, staid not long in 
these parts, but making his way back to England, was 
taken by a press-gang for his Majesty’s service, as 
empowered by the Seaman’s Bill to authorize im- 
pressment, which passed the very year after we were 
left on the island. So Tom was carried on board 
the Pembroke^ of sixty guns, where he served for 
some time, with an excellent character. At length. 


432 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


the ship being one of the fleet under Admiral Bosca- 
wen, in bis expedition lo the East Indies, was (rather 
better than five years back from the day I now 
write,* and nearly twice that space of time after the 
day when Hopkins marooned us on the desolate 
island) overtaken by a dreadful tempest at Calderoon 
point, in the road of Fort St. David’s ; when, out of 
nigh three hundred and fifty brave men she had on 
board, only twelve persons were saved from the 
wreck. I grieve to record it, that poor Tom was 
not among those fortunate few; as I found too surely, 
seeing the list with my own eyes at the Admiralty, 
some time after that terrible disaster, when I myself 
had returned to England. 

As to the Spaniards, most of them landed at To- 
bago, and thence, I believe, found their way to other 
ports of the Spanish West India plantations; but 
five remained in the ship then, and after I left her, 
entering themselves on the ship’s books for regulai 
service. Indeed, during our exile, they may be said 
to have belonged to no nation ; and when our little 
republic was broken up, ’tis natural they should take 
so fair an ofier as this good captain gave them. The 
five were named Pedro Dolea, Christoval Ramirez, 
Rodrigo Melandez, Fadrique Santaens, and Estevan 
Guaxardo. I heard after, in a roundabout way, but 
without certainty, that Estevan and Rodrigo (unless 
it was some chance namesakes of theirs,) when the 
Glorieux was paid oft at Brest, volunteered into the 

states, on the 

latn of April, 1749 ; so that his casual notice of the vessel 
may be taken as another proof of his having written his ad. 
ventures m 1754 . — Ed. 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


433 


Elizabeth^ a French ship of sixty-six guns, hound for 
the Scottish coast, to convoy thither the prince whom 
some folks called the Pretender, and others the 
Chevalier. But, being encountered by the Lion man 
of war, the ship was handled so severely as to be 
forced back into Brest, with considerable loss : and 
among the killed and wounded were our two poor 
comrades ; that is, Estevan killed, and Rodrigo 
wounded severely. After that, 1 never heard news 
of him more. 

To go from grave to gayer, Rer-mimebolambo had 
the most laughable escape from bondage you ever 
knew. For, on our touching at Guadaloupe (whither 
we went from Tobago with a flowing sheet and a 
spanking breeze), when the French oflicers boarded 
us, to overhaul our papers, and give us a clean bill 
of health from the yellow fever, that was raging in 
some of the adjacent islands, what should they do, 
but seize on our poor John Pounder for a runaway 
negro slave ! Do all I could to claim him for a Brit- 
ish subject, they would not hear of it, and bade me 
remember (with insolence enough) the freedom that 
had been guaranteed to Tom Harvey and myself by 
the French captain, ought to suffice us. Plainly 
intimating, that (had they got their way) the jiaroltk 
which this good captain had given us, that our 
liberty should not be molested, had gone for little 
or nothing. 

However, as to Pounder, in the teeth of all our 
remonstrating, and that of the captain beside, who 
threatened them with I know not what, on his return 
to France, the end was, our poor Indian was marched 


434 


THl ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS. 


ffo between two files of soldiers to the residence of 
the governor, who was for claiming him at once as a 
slave. This was a man consequential to a degree, 
jet so ignorant as not to see the differences of skin 
and feature that mark off the African black fi-om the 
Indian of Toonati-nooka, which are clear enough to 
a close observer. And this my candid reader will 
allow, if he looks on the portrait of poor Pounder 
that was taken of him two years after, or more, in 
Nova Scotia; which I have left in my will to be 
copied and prefixed to these adventures of mine: 
nay, even more so than I think are there portrayed. 
But ’twas of no purpose to insist on this to the gov- 
ernor ; and things were going hard with Rer-mime, 
till at last I bethought me of an experiment in the 
way of language to decide the question. So, calling 
in a negro who had purchased his freedom, and then 
lived in the island as a sort of overseer, or slave- 
driver, to one of the planters, I asked the captain to 
prevail on the governor to have this man put on his 
oath to tell “ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth.” And that much, with some ado, the 
governor consented to at last. 

This old negro was one, most of whose life had 
been spent in slavery ; he was brought away from 
his native coast, near Sierra Leone, when he was not 
yet sixteen years of age : but he had kept the perfect 
use of his mother-tongue, by conversing with his 
fellow-slaves, together with a smattering of bad 
French he had learned on the island. When he was 
had into court, I confronted him with Pounder ; then, 
in the presence of some of the chief men of the island, 


THK CATHOLIC CRCSOB, 


435 


for learning and understanding (who chanced to be 
in town for a kind of assizes then being held, and 
were drawn to the court-house by the novelty of thii 
proceeding, no less than by the other causes going 
forward there), I asked him on a sudden to repeat 
to me the Ten Commandments in his native tongue : 
Egging the audience to give close attention. This 
he did, glibly enough ; for I must say, the negroes 
of those French islands are well taught in their re- 
ligion, when the priests are not thwarted in their 
efforts by some selfish, grasping planter, more intent 
on scraping money together than on the welfare of 
his slaves. While the old man was speaking, I took 
down on a paper some sentences he uttered ; then, 
asking the court to take notice that Pounder was 
ignorant of the French tongue, and knew not what 
the other had been required to repeat, I bade the 
Indian repeat the Commandments in the language of 
ToonatL This he did at once, and without a fault, 
thanks to Don Manuel’s careful teaching : and their 
two languages were hereby shown to be so unlike 
each other, that the court went no further, but 
quashed proceedings, and decreed the Indian to be 
given back to us out of hand. Several members of 
it even expressed themselves to me in a way I will 
not repeat, on what they were pleased to term my 
ingenuity in manifesting the truth before them all. 
They insisted, moreover, on giving us an entertain- 
ment before we tripped our anchor ; at which senti- 
ments were uttered, full of good feeling toward us. 
Tom Harvey made them a speech, of which they 
understood not a word ; as he, for his part, could 


436 THE ADTENTUR8 OF OWN KTANS. 

make out none of their lingo : and I followed in his 
wake, with not much better success. Our good-will, 
though, was accepted instead of language ; so that 
at parting they declared, we were such good fel- 
lows, ’twas a thousand pities we were not born 
Frenchmen. 

From this point I met with some other advent- 
ures; none of them (I think) worth troubling the 
reader with, nor any that surpassed the common run 
of sea-faring haps and mishaps. I was shipwrecked, 
’tis true, some eighteen months after, in the Racehorse 
packet, that went to pieces on the rocks in the Bay 
of Fundy ; when all hands, except eighteen seamen 
and three passengers, were lost. Pounder had the 
good fortune to be saved with me and the rest in the 
long boat, and we made our way, after some hard- 
ships, to Halifax. Here I set up in my profession, 
and had some practice for five or six years, with 
Pounder as half companion, half servant; and a 
faithful fellow and good Christian he proved. After 
that, my sight, that had been threatening me, so far 
failed as to disqualify me for practice ; so, gathering 
together what little I had contrived to save, I bade 
farewell to my profession and to foreign parts ; but 
not before I had married in Halifax a French wife, 
of about my own age and station, whose family 
came from Montmagny, nigh to Quebec: a good 
Catholic she was and is, and keeps me up to my re- 
ligion. 

After various chances in London, where being a 
Catholic stood in my way at every turn, and kept 
me low in the world, at length, through the kind 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


437 


ness of Captain Byron, who was above such narrow 
prejudice, though he had no taste for my religion, I 
was appointed deputy harbour-master in the place 
from which I now write : viz.. Great Yarmouth, in 
Norfolk, under a worthy man, Mr. Thomas William- 
son, well known to the elder brethren of the Trinity 
House, and who carries an honourable wound (in- 
deed, ’tis the loss of three fingers, besides a severe 
splinter scar) from the action oif Cape Finisterre. 

And here I bring to a close this record of some 
years out of a life, that had nothing in it so remark- 
able as a course of providences exerted for one most 
unworthy, who can but make feeble efforts to be not 
wholly ungrateful. 


NOTE. 

If it should appear strange that the irregular, and, in some 
respects, confused account now presented to the reader 
should not have been written till eleven years had elapsed 
from Evans’ leaving the island, a parallel case (at least) may 
be furnished by Commodore Byron, referred to at p. 252, 
whose account of his early sufferings on the coast of (3hili in 
1740 were “ written by himself, and now first published,” in 
1768. In his preface he says : “ As the greatest pain I feel 
in committing the following sheets to the press arises from 
an apprehension that many of my readers will accuse me of 
egotism, I will not incur that charge in my preface by detain- 
ing them with the reasons which have induced me, at this 
time, to yield to the desire of my friends. It is equally indif- 
ferent to the public to be told how it happened, that nothing 
should have got the better of my indolence and reluctance to 
comply with the same requests, for the space of twenty year*.** 
— Rn 


43B 


THE ADVE:JTURES of OWEN EVANS, 


SUPPLEMENT. 

VERSION OF A LATIN MS. 

PICKED UP AT SEA BY H. M. S. RAMILLIES, 
COMMANDER GEORGE DUTTON, 

MAT 14th, 1773, IN w. LONG. 43^; s. lat. 24° 5^ 

PRECEDED BY 

CAPTAIN DUTTON^S REPORT TO THE ADMIRALTY 

H. M. S. Ramilles, off Spithead, 

June 8th, 1773. 

TO 

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF, SANDWICH' 

- FlilST LORD OF HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY’S AD- 
MIRALTY, KG., P.C., &C., &C. 


My Lord, 

I have the honour of forwarding to your Lord- 
ship, together with the Ramilles* log, the acconi' 
panying manuscript^ picked up (as your Lordship 
will observe by the entry in the log itself,) the 14th 
of last month, on our homeward voyage. It is cu- 
rious, from the materials that compose it ; being 
written on the leaves of the palmetto, or some over 
broad-leaved tree ; and from the manner in which we 
found it secured. It was attached to an un painted 
buoy of light wood, rudely shaped by a hatchet oi 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


489 


some other iron instrument; but the whole thing 
was so covered (at least the under part) with barna- 
cles and other shell-fish, and so eaten with sea- worms 
throughout, that ic had evidently been a consider- 
able time in the water. I should say, from the 
condition of old ships, that not a vessel in his Ma- 
jesty’s service (and I have been in some dangerous 
ones) would be allowed afloat after so long an im- 
mersion, without careening. 

This buoy was furnished with a kind of outrig- 
gers, made of rude boards of the same sort of wood, 
ingeniously attached to it by cords of twisted, or 
rather plaited, cocoa-fibres, much decayed by the 
water ; though they appeared to have been steeped 
in oil to prevent it. On the top was a small flag 
Btafi*, still carrying, pinned into it by wooden pegs, 
a shred of some woollen stuff, almost gone, which we 
judged to have been once a seaman’s jacket, fastened 
there in order to make the buoy more visible at sea. 

Observing the buoy, I slackened sail, and sent a 
boat to bring it on board, When we hoisted it on 
deck, we found lashed to it a case or coveiing of 
laths, neatly spliced, somewhat in the form of a small 
keg, bound tightly with the same kind of fibre, and 
payed* all over with a coating of Indian gum, which 
lay on it, in some places, three-quarters of an inch 
thick. So careful had the writer, or his friends, 
been to preserve the MS. from injury. Notwith- 
standing, in one place the gum, or Indian rubber, 

* A seaman’s expression, meaning to daub or anoint tte 
surface of any body, in order to preserve it from the iiijuriea 
of water and weather, etc. — E d. 


^0 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

had slightly given, perhaps from the case getting 
foul of the buoy in some shifting of the currents, 
floating exposed, and cracking in the sun. From 
this, as your Lordship will perceive, the w’riting on 
a few of the outerf leaves is damaged past recovery, 
I forward it, however, in the condition in which we 
found it on opening the case. The case itself, to- 
gether with the buoy and its appurtenances, I intend 
to have the honour of presentmg to the Admiralty 
Museum, or to the collection belonging to the Royal 
Society, or that of Sir Hans Sloane, at your Lord- 
ship’s discretion ; as a specimen of work I take to be 
that of savages, assisted by some one more acquainted 
with the arts of civilization. 

As to the contents of the leaves, having forgotten 
whatever little acquaintance I once had with the 
language they are written in, and our chaplain un- 

f Captain Dutton does not explain how the earlier instead 
of the latter portion of the MS. came to receive injury from 
the water, which got at the outer leaves. It must be remem- 
bered, however, that the palm-leaves on which it was writ- 
ten were not folded together like so many sheets of paper in 
6 packet, where the commencement of the MS. would be Uie 
portion best defended from external injury. They would 
be; on the contrary, laid together without folding, in the 
order in which they were written; and probably bound 
with other leaves, or cocoa-nut fibre, so as to form a solid 
mass. In this case, it would depend on the accident of the 
Indian gum cracking on one side or the other of the outer 
covering of laths, whether the portion of the MS. rendered 
intellegible would be the commencement or the end. The 
collection of Sir Hans Sloane is w^ell knowm to have formed 
the nucleus of the present British Museum ; and perhaps the 
courtesy of the attendants in that great public institution, or 
in the other collections of which Captain Dutton speaks, 
may enable the curious reader, if not to discover the original 
MS., at least to elucidate the subject by a comparison wit^i 
other writings of a similar nature. — E d. 


tltK CATItOLIC CRUSOE. 


441 


fortunately having been set ashore at Falmouth, be- 
sides that they are written close, in a foreign hand, 
and the ink (of whatever sort originally) now ex- 
tremely faded by time, I think it best to forward 
them to your Lordship without further comment 
When they were picked up, we were at least twenty 
leagues from any land laid down on the ship’s charts ; 
whatever colony or mission of discovery they refer 
to, was perhaps ten times the distance from us at 
that moment ; and must have prospered or decayed 
beyond need or possibility of help, when the papers 
were committed to chance of winds and waves. All 
this considered, I stood on my course, without any 
vain attempt to trace the fate of the writer. 

As soon as some remaining duties may permit, I 
shall come from Portsmouth with the next two days, 
and present myself to your Lordship and the Board 
of Admiralty : awaiting which honoui 
I am, my Lord, 

Your Lordship’s most faithful, 
obedient servant, 

^ George Dutton, 
Commander. 

P. S. — ^Mr. Symes, your Lordship’s cousin, desires 
me to add his respectful duty. I shall have pleasure 
to report well of his conduct in detail, together with 
that of my other officers : but I cannot forbear par- 
ticular mention of Lieutenant Pilkington, of whose 
deserts and claims on your Lordship’s favour for 
promotion, I shall take occasion to speak more at 
large. — G. D. 


442 


THl ABYSMTURBS Of OWBN BTANS, 


Don Manuel’s Narrative. 

[Here folio we th the t]rue rel[ati]on of [me, Man- 
uel . . *] ex-pr[ovincial, conce] ruing the st[ate of 
thir]teen com[panions, with my]self, on an unk[nown 
island, be]ing, so well a[s we c]an gu[ess somejwhere 

to the so[uth of *] 

I besjeech you, bro[ther, w]hoso[ever you be, who 
by] the Divi[ne permission may] find these writ- 
[ings, to trans]mit the [same, or] a cop[y of them, 
so soon as it shall be po]ssible for [you, to my m]ost 
Re[verend Lord and Fa]ther in God, Don Ped[ro 

*, bis]hop of Barc[elona, or to m]y 

Very R[everend and bel]oved Fa[ther, the prov]in- 
cia[l for the t]ime b[eing, of the 0]rder [of 
or] at the l[east, to] delpver them to the] B[ish]op 
or G[overnor of any] city in old [Spain, or in the 
Spanish col]oni[es, w]hereat [ye shall touch : and 
may the] mercpful Lord there]fore rew[ard you.] 
These are to mak[e known to the glor]y of God, 
and to ob[tain help for the stren]gthening of this 
mi[ssion, that we] have been one ye[ar and . . . , ] 
months in [this heathen and sa]vage place, [without 
pros]pect of being vi[sited or re[lieved b]y any Eu 
ro[pean shi[p. Hi]ther we ca[me, imp]elled by [the 
desire of] anno[uncing to the In]dians the savpng 
truths of eter]nal life : and [came by a ser]ies of 
won[derful prov]idences, mark[ed with the ha]nd of 
God; ha[ving been first des]ei’ted on one ipland, 
(sufficie]ntly dispant from] this) by [ ] 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


443 


made the instru[inents in His] hand who bri[nga 
good from] evi[l in His own ti]me and way, [first, 
of sa]ving a peri[shmg crew] on that pl[ace, sub- 
j]ects of his Ca[tholic maj]esty ; and now far[ther 
(which] is the great[er wor]k) of brin[ging the 
gos]pel to a po[pulous hea]tlien land. 

We we[re received at fir[st with s]ome mist[rust, 
beo]ause of o[ur lauding] with ar[ms in our] hand[s ; 
yet to] have gone thi[ther defenc]eless [would have 
be]en thro[wing need]lessly our [lives away. The] 
inha[bitants cro]wded dow[n upon the] shore, fil[led 
with wo]nder, rat[her than an]imated b[y emn]ity 
or fear. They [had never be]fore seen the wb[ite 
faces of] the children of Eu[rope. But, as] jve had 
taken with us [two of their o]wn nation (thrown [by 
Provi]denc on the is[land when]ce we came, and by 
gr[ace conv]erted and baptized) our com[munication 
wi]th them was so[on estab]lished. For the mo- 
ment, w[e arranged] a barter with th[em for] food, 
by means [of some tr]ifles we had brought with [us ; 
mere n]ails and bits of glass, [or scraps] of iron, 
which [to them] were worth hogs, goats, ve[getables, 
fr]uits, fresh wa[ter in g]ourds, and any oth[er pro]- 
duction of their country. 

Two [swift mess]engers started up into the [in- 
terior] to announce our arri[val to their] king, or 
cacique,* who lives in [a village] half a day’s jour- 
pey up [the coun]try : in the meantime they [as- 
signed] to us for a tempor[ary abo]de a narrow 

* Don Manuel is probably incorrect in giving to the King 
of Toonati-nooka a name which he musi .^aye borrowed 
from his knowledge of the native chiefs of Chili, Peru, and 
other Spanish settlements of South America.“-£». 


444 THB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

Strip [of land] on the shore, almost sur[rounde]d by 
water. Though [they er]ected a strong and high 
pa[lisade of] pointed stakes across the neck [of this 
la]nd to prevent our [passing be]yond it, and also 
made [us pro]mise that we would not use [our bo]atfl 
'of which we had two) [to pass] to any other point 
of their country ; yet, on [the oth]er hand, they 
showed great fri[end]liness ; and crowds were 
coh[stantly] coming and going with in [satia- 
ble curiosity to look [at us, and] speak with us 
through the bars of the palisade. It was chiefly 
[with our] two Indians and myself that they [con 
versed ;] for I had gained (through these two) a 
Bufii[cient knowl]edge of their language to speak [it 
with ea]se. They had numberless questions to [ask 
abou]t our nation, king, laws, cus[toms, reli]gion, 
wars, dress, barter, })roductions, down [to the mo]st 
minute details of our lives : and they [would scar]ce* 
ly allow us time to sleep, nor me, unwor[thy prie]st, 
leisure to read my breviary, so eager were they, [day 
and] night, to listen to everything we coul[d tell] them. 

I was glad to be able thus to comm[ence m]y mis- 
sion among them; and announced to them, with 
cau[tion and] not ex professo^ some of the flrst tru[th8 
of rejligion, the unity of God, the punishments of sin, 
etc. [But the wo]rk became so fatiguing (the 
crowds increasing contin[ually, as] the report of our 
arrival flew abroad), I was truly gl[ad when a] cry 
arose, from those who were furthest [from the p]ali- 
sades, “ Tooma^ tooma which is th[eir word] tor 
king, or principal lord ; by which I concl[uded th« 
kin]g himself had come down to see us. 


THE OATHOLIO 0RU80E. 


445 


He came, 8urrou[nded by his gjuards, who could 
scarcely keep off the crowds, even [by beajting them 
severely with the staves of their s[pears. All those^ 
who could approach him performed the usual c[ere- 
mony in to]ken of submission, which is, licking the 
king’s feet. He [bade the t]wo Indians and myself 
come forth to [him, to the] other side of the palisade. 
This we were not prepared for, be[ing quite ujncer- 
tain of his relation towards us ; at first I designed to 
[make the ki]ng and his chief men [for he was sur- 
rounded by many who[m it was] easy to remark aa 
persons in authority,) take an [oath, in the so]lemn 
manner of their country, that our persons should [be 
8a]fe among them. On second thoughts, [however, 
I] remembered that such an oath was likely to [con- 
sist in] some idolatrous rite, and the invocation of 
[one of th]e many demons worshipped among them ; 
and I re[solved rather] to trust myself in the merci- 
ful hands of God than counten[ance such] an act. 

I answered, however, [with an] air of authority, 
that we were messengers [from a gr]eat king, who 
had sent us hither on a negoci[ation of the] utmost 
importance to Toonati-nooka ; that my King had 
[done me the ho]nour to admit me near His person, 
and had laid on me an o[ffice that usu]ally kept me 
employed about His throne; that we came as am- 
b[assadors, not] as supplicants, and for the benefit 
of himself [and his pe]ople, not for any necessity or 
advantage [of our own]. I went on to say, though 
we were few in number, comp[ared to] those who 
surround us, yet the weapons in [our han]ds (for 
each of our men carried two muskets, and had three 


446 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

or fo[iir pisto]ls in his belt) were of so tremendons • 
kind as made us capable of slay[mg numjbers, if we 
were so disposed, though we came on an embassy of 
peace. Th[erefore, if] we were to treat, it must be 
on equal terms : that I, as ambassador, would pre» 
Bent my [self before] the king, if his guards (all but 
two only,) would lay aside their spears for the pre- 
sent, and the rest of his [subject]s keep to a distance 
of three spears^ lengths around us: also, if two 
hostages of their chief [men, u]narmed, would pase 
inside the palisade, for every one of us who went be- 
yond it. 

These terms, together with the to[ne I ass]umed, 
astonished the king ; and he called his chiefs around 
him to deliberate on what I said. After [a while, 
he] sent to us one of the oldest among them, a sensi- 
ble man, who told me these were new and unheard- 
of things for a stranger to pro [pose ; that] our 
coming was unlooked for, and our appearance un- 
usual : in a word, that the king desired some proof 
of the power we brought with us, such [as should 
n]ot harm his people, whilst they convinced himself 
and his chiefs. 

Upon this, I turned to one of my companions, who 
was reckoned as the best mark8[man amo]ng us with 
his gun ; and, pointing so a sea-eagle wheeling above 
UK at no great height, I bade him to take steady aim, 

and shoot in the name of God and Sa[int ♦ 

May our] good Lord forgive me if I was guilty oJ 
any presumption in this ; but I trusted, not only U 
my faith and poor prayer, [but to the man]’s knowi\ 

* Probably Saint James, tbe patron saint of Spain. — E d. 


THS CATHOLIC ORUSO®. 


447 


ikill with his weapon. Also, I was sure that, did he 
hit or did he miss, the effect on the savages would 
only differ in degree, and that [the dreajdful noise 
and sudden surprise of the explosion would not fail 
to impress them with reverence for us, and dread of 
our weapons. 

As I supposed, so it turned out. No sooner had 
the sai[lor dischjarged his piece, than such a yell 
arose from the multitude, as if an earthquake or 
other terrific thing happened. The greater part of 
them [fell to the] earth, hiding their faces ; some ran 
like scared creatures into the woods : other called on 
their gods to save them. But what was their aston- 
ishment when the ea[gle, transjfixed with the ball, 
fluttered down, bleeding and dying, and fell in the 
midst of the assembly. From that time we had no 
need to assert our equality with them ; for they ac- 
knowledged us [at once as su]perior bemgs. So 
great was their dread of us now, it was not easy to 
find, among all their bravest warriors, six who would 
come within the palisade as hostages. We on our 
[part, made all sijgns of friendship ; and told them, 
this dreadful thunder and lightning (so they called 
our weapons) was only used against our enemies ; 
that we had it so completely under our con[trol, it 
would on]ly explode when we pleased : and we sol- 
emnly assured them, by the great King who sent us, 
if they attempted not to harm us, it should never 
explode against] them. 

On this, they took heart again, and six chiefs (who 
were afterwards rewarded by the king with a string 
of shells a-piece for this act of daring) came in among 


448 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS. 

our men, while our two In[dians and mjyself were 
received outside by the king, his guards having laid 
aside their arms as I had required. 

His first demand was, to see one of these wonder- 
ful weapons nearer; but that fit shonld no3t make 
the noise, nor shoot forth the fire again. I called 
back to the man who fired, to pass his musket to me 
through the palisade ; and holding it, I [addressed 
the) king, telling him he should judge by what I was 
now about to do, whether I had spoken truly that 
these weapons would fire or not, as we willed. I 
made him him remark, I w[as going to do] what the 
man had done before : pledging my truth as an am- 
bassador, it should make no more noise than the king 
himself would by snapping his fingers. There w[as 
to be] no fire, I said, but one spark only : and if it 
thundered forth as before, or anything like it, he 
might disbelieve my message, and send [us away] as 
impostors. 

The king and all the assembly were half afraid of 
the thing being done over again ; but I solemnly as- 
sured them, I would rest the w^hole credit of my mis- 
sion [on the res]ult ; then, amidst a breathless silence 
in the vast concourse, I pointed the gun upward, as 
though I took aim at some other bird, and so pulled 
the trigger. When the king [heard the sn]ap, and 
saw the spark from the flint, and nothing further- 
more, he threw his arms into the air, and shouted out 
that we were, since we had absolute control over 
these dreadful creatures, ra[ther gods th]an men. 
Then, in spite of our agreement, his chiefs pressed 
round us, and, do what I would to prevent it, they 


THU OATHOLIO CBUSOl. 


449 


all licked my feet, after the custom of the country. 
[I seized] the opportunity to proclaim the true God, 
asking the king to judge if we, who were hut the 
poor servants of Him in whose name we came, could 
do such mighty wonders, what must be His [own 
power a]nd majesty ! And thus we already dis- 
posed both him and his nation to receive the faith. 

Then he asked me, on what terms was he to treat 
with this great King ? What did He require ? 1 

an[8wered, my] King required nothing but what was 
to make the king of Toonati-nooka and his subjects 
happy ; that for this very purpose had I been sent ; 
that my K[ing, being more] pow^erful than all 
others, and more abounding in possession of wealth 
and happiness, needed nothing as being necessary to 
Him ; being as good and merciful as He was rich 
[and power]ful. His delight was to make all other 
kings and their subjects happy : and again, that be- 
ing as wise as He was powerful, rich, and happy in 
Himself, He sent His ambassadors in[to every] quar- 
ter of the earth, to proclaim the laws and ordinances 
by which alone men could be happy while they 
lived, and happy after they were dead. Lastly, I 
repeated, it was for this and no other object that I 
was come and had brought hither my companions. 

[I told him] I sought not the gold or wealth of 
his kingdom; that my King willed that he should 
still occupy his throne and be obeyed by his sub- 
jects ; that the best security for his person and king- 
dom w[ould be, to] submit himself, and cause 
them to submit, to my King’s wise and benevolent 
laws, which teach men to be obedient to lawful au’ 


450 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

thority, and not do only what they must needs, hut 
what is rights because it is right. Other things of 
the like kind I added : and though he see[med in- 
c]apable of understanding what I said about right 
and justice, yet, seeing him listen attentively, I re- 
solved not to lose the occasion. 

The king pondered grea[tly on w]hat I said, and 
sat silent for some space ; then, calling to him the 
vrave, venerable chiefs who were his counsellors, he 
deliberated with them: and they declared it was 
^ood, though new. This the[y repjeated several 
imes, as though surprised at its being new and un- 
heard-of, yet approving it as good. And I heard 
them repeating this often to themselves, to one an- 
other, and to the king: new\y but gd\od; new^ but 
good. 

Then the king went on to ask me many questions 
about the laws and ordinances I had come to pro- 
claim ; and whether any of them would be against 
the laws established in his kingdom by those who 
had been before him. This ques[tion, as] being dif- 
ficult to answer, I evaded for the time : for the Gos- 
pel of our Lord J esus Christ must needs be in oppo- 
sition to the idolatrous and wicked customs of the 
heathen ; as said the apostle : “ What fellowship hath 
light with darkness? And what [concord h]ath 
Christ with Belial ? Or what part hath the faithful 
with the unbeliever?” Therefore I answered him, 
that as yet I was not acquainted with the customs 
of his kingdom, and could not speak as to particu- 
lars ; but sure I was, the laws of a king so wise, bo 
just, 80 benevolent [as mine] needs be the best md 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


451 


happiest possible ; and that, did it chance any of those 
in Toonati-nooka differed from them, it would be 
to his happiness to conform to my king’s law with 
out delay. 

He seemed to think all this was reasonable^ as did 
his counsellors too : they sat silent again, pondering 
on all I had advanced ; now one, n[ow ano]ther, nod- 
ding with his head, and saying it was good. At 
length the King rose up, and taking off his head* 
dress of feathers, placed it on me, as a mark ol 
special favour and inviolable hospitality. He also 
chewed one half of a betel-nut, and invited me to 
chew the other. Then he bade me to a feast, which 
had been preparing u[nder a grjove of trees, while 
we were in conference. He promised at the same 
time, to send abundance of provisions to our men, 
which he amply fulfilled: and allowed me to send 
back the younger of my two Indians to the inclos- 
ure, to serve as interpreter, and carry messages to 
and fro. 

Our feast was as ceremonious as a state banquet 
ever was ; indeed, many ceremonies were e[specially 
ojbserved in my honour, and I was glad to find, 
they were not accompanied by any superstitious ob- 
servances, which I could not have joined in. But 
before it concluded, there came in a number of slave 
dancers, to dance before the king and his guests, 
whose performance was heathenish to a degree, and 
wounding to Christian eyes. On this, I told the 
king, my Master forbade His ser[vant8 to] be pre- 
sent at such exhibitions ; and begged him to let the 
dancers retire. He answered, laughing : “ O, horn 


452 THl adventures OT OWEN EVANS, 

Durable ambassador I what matters it for the time, 
inasmuch as your king sees you not 

To which I replied by asking him respectfully, 
would he consider any of his subjects faithful, who 
only obeyed his laws while his eye was upon them ? 
He considered awhile, then said, wi[th a fro]wnmg 
countenance: “No, indeed; if I knew of anyone 
transgressing my laws at a distance, I would send to 
him this my servant.” On which, he beckoned the 
public executioner (w^ho always attends him,) a tall, 
athletic man of ferocious aspect, with a large sword, 
made of a wood almost as hard as iron, and quite as 
heavy, “ This is the messenger,” says he, “ I send to 
all my subjects who forget their duty. Tell me, O 
slave,” he [continujed, addi-essing tne executioner, 
“ how many notches hast thou on thy sword ?” “ O 

king,” answered he, “ they are six, fifty, and two 
hundred,” (so they always reckon backwards in this 
country.) “Good!” cries the king, laughing ; then 
turned to me and explained, the custom was for the 
executioner to make a notch on his weapon for every 
malefactor’s head he cut off. “ And thy father be- 
fore thee,” continued the king ; “ how [many njotches 
did he make in his time ?” “ O king !” answered the 
executioner, “ my father had two swords, given him 
by the king your father ; and they were so full of 
notches, there was not room to make one notch 
more.” 

“ You see, now, O ambassador,” says the king to 
me, “we know how to punish those who transgress 
our laws.” “ And my Master, O King,” answered 
I, “ has not one ambassador only, nor [one ex]ec» 


THIS CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


453 


tioner, nor one army, but more than I can count, all 
ranged round His throne. The swords of His 
executioners are of fire, and pestilence, famine, and 
death. One of them, once sent out by my King, 
slew seventy thousand men in three days : another 
went forth alone against the King’s enemies, and in 
one night slew five thousand, and eighty thousand, 
and an hundred thousand.”* 

On this, the king’s nephew, who had [just com]e 
in from a hunting party, and had heard nothing of 
what had passed before, burst out laughing, and 
showed signs of incredulity as to what I asserted. 
But the king reproved him with an angry counte- 
nance, and related to him at large the firing of the 
gun ; asking if such were the dreadful creatures 
carried by an embassy of peace, what might not be 
expected of the war implements and executioners’ 
swords of so great a King? 

But I do not understand, O ambassador,” con- 
tinued he, “ how your King secures your obedience 
to His laws when you are out of His sight ? My 
subjects” (he went on whispering in my ear) “observe 
my laws carefully, because they know I have spies 
in every part of my kingdom who would report 
them on their disobedience. But if I sent them on 
a distant embassy, like yours, I believe they would 
think little of disobeying every law my forefathers 
enacted.” 

* The reference here is evidently to the three da.ys’ pesti- 
lence recorded in II, Kings, xxiv. 18, and to the destruction 
of the host of Sennacherib, IV. Kings, xix. 35. It would ap- 
pear to be the idiom in Toonti-nooka, as among the ancient 
Greeks, in stating a high number, to proceed from the leseer 
numerals to the greater. — E d. 


1.54 


THE ADVENTURES OP OWEN EVANS, 


To which I answered, though my King was indeed 
out of my sight, yet I was not out of His ; that His 
eyes pierced into every place ; that He had servants 
and [messe ]ngers innumerable, who could fly with 
the speed of light to give Him notice of all that 
passed over the whole earth; yet that He needed 
them not, though He was pleased frequently to em- 
ploy their services, which they rendered most will- 
with a great love of their King: finally, that 
(by some of His courtiers) He kept a great book, in 
which were written down all the actions of every 
one of His subjects, even to the meanest and poorest 
pel son, even the smallest action, or the least whisper 
of a word ; and according to these entries in the book, 
the King rewarded or punished His subjects without 
fail, sooner or later, as His wisdom decreed. 

On this he pondered a little at the first; then 
laughed, and said, it must needs be a large book, in- 
deed, and a great deal of trouble to keep it: and 
asked how many scribes were employed on this, and 
what kind of writing they used. To this I returned 
an evasive answer, not wishing to give him more to 
think of at that time ; and turning the discourse, 1 
said to the king, though he had been pleased to com- 
ply with my request, and send away his dancers, yet 
my King did by no means forbid any amusement 
that was harmless ; and if he would condescend to 
witness a war dance of my countrymen (so I called 
their exercising with their weapons,) he would see 
how regularly they could perform it. 

The king seemed highly delighted with this pro. 
posal; only he made me promise, these javelins oi 


THl CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


455 


lightniug (so he called our guns) should not be shot 
forth again without his express permission. I did 
this ; and moreover, on my sacred character as am- 
bassador to the Great King, the men were to return 
to their palisade when the dance was over, at least 
for that night, until the king had determined how he 
would receive us into the country. 

This being concluded, I called out to the men in 
Spanish, that eight of them (five of whom had been 
marines in our wrecked ship, and the other three 
veteran invalided troops of the line) should march 
out in order, shouldering theii* arms, and should give 
a great example of discipline. Accordingly they 
came forth with fixed bayonets, marching in step, 
and filing in front of the king, suddenly wheeled 
round, and presented themselves in a line before him, 
grounding their arms, which made a great clash on 
the ground. But this startled both him and his 
chiefs, who expected nothing , less than that all the 
muskets would explode together. He rose up in 
consternation, throwing a thick shield of bull’s hide 
before him, and crouching down behind it : several 
of his chiefs betrayed their fear by running behind 
the trees, and of the multitude, a great number fell 
on their faces again and set up loud cries. On this, 
I came before him again smiling, and with outstretched 
hands asked him whether he had forgotten that I had 
pledged my word, the javelins should not explode ? 
This brought him and the chiefs to themselves again ; 
some of them seemed rather ashamed of the fear they 
had shown ; and the king told me he wished the war 
dance to proceed. 


i56 THE ADVBWTURS OF OWN EVANS, 

On whicli, strictly charging the men not so much 
as to level their guns in any direction where specta- 
tors were assembled (who, indeed, surrounded us on 
all sides,) I bade them go through some of their 
'^ommon exercises. They did so wdth great precision, 
inder the command of one of the veterans, who was 
a sergeant, and had seen much service. The exercise, 
or war dance, so delighted the king, that before it 
was half concluded, he leaped from the ground where 
he was seated, laughed, shouted, clapped his hands ; 
then, calling for his spear and shield, rushed with a 
wild yell into the midst, with violent gesticulations ; 
brandishing his weapons. He then began to shout a 
tremendous war-song at the top of his voice. This 
example so excited his chiefs to warlike fury, that 
they followed him to the very letter. They seized 
their spears, and formed a circle round him, joining 
him in the war-song ; moving round at first more 
slowly, then quicker and quicker, as the excitement 
or passion of battle increased : at times they struck 
their spears into the earth as though they were slay- 
ing an enemy ; and the song became louder continu- 
ally, till they seemed to lose all command of 
themselves, and rushed round and round, their eyes 
inflamed and countenances distorted with phrensy, 
shiieking out their battle-cry like so many furies. 

The converted Indians now drew near to me, and 
said with alarm, that we were in much danger from 
them ; that when this excitement seized them, they 
became unable to distinguish friends from foes ; ^and, 
moreover, when the king thus joined in a war dance 
with his chiefs, it seldom ended without their striking 


ME CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


467 


their lances through several of the spectators. On 
this news, I drew our men together in line, bidding 
them present their bayonets in self-defence towards 
these furious savages, in case they showed any further 
ign of hostilities : then with my two Indians, I 
commenced, at the full pitch of our united voices, a 
simple hymn which I had composed for them in their 
native language. At the first strains, I could perceive 
the fury of those war-dancers somewhat abate ; and 
we had not sung half a dozen times, before they 
subsided into something of their former tranquility. 
We continued steadily looking on them with unmov- 
ed countenances ; before the hymn ended , they stood 
listening, having cast aside their w^eapons, fixed with 
curiosity, and a kind of rude reve^.ence, or fear, 

We finished our hymn as we walked back quietly 
to the place where the king had now re-seated him- 
self; and by this, all danger and disturbance had 
ceased. He express^'.d his approval, nodding his head 
several times; then asked us, what was the 
meaning of what we had sung. Was it a war song, 
or a lament over those who had fallen, or a song to 
one of the gods of our country, or the history oi 
•ome famous warrior ? To this, I answered, it was 
one of our modes of addressing my King. Were 
those words, then, asked he, addressed to the King 
who sent you ? I signified, yes. But pursued the 
king, we never sing any song of so solemn a nature, 
unless to lament over the dead, or to address our 
gods. “Stand forth, Ta-kaeeuga,” continued he, 
turning to his chief bard, or priest, “ and sing us 
my ancestor’s song to Havaoeekee. 


468 THE ADTBNTURS OF OWN BTANS, 

On this, I could scarcely restrain my converted 
Indians from giving expression to their disgust at 
hearing the name of the idol they had once wor- 
shipped. I, for my part, was equally determined 
the idolatrous hymn should not be sung in our 
presence ; therefore, turning to the king with a reso- 
lute countenance, I told him, my King was much more 
powerful than Havoeekee, or any of the gods of the 
island : that to sing a hymn in his praise, while we 
were by, would be reckoned an insult to my King, 
of which I felt sure the king of Toonati-nooka would 
not be guilty, were it only out of hospitality, but 
which my King conld punish on the spot, if it were 
persisted in : and a good deal more to the same pur- 
pose. He listened with the greatest wonder and 
atonishment, as did also his chiefs. When 1 had 
done speaking, he conferred some time with them, 
then beckoned me again to come to him alone, where 
he was seated. Here he caused a mat of honour to 
be spread for me beside his own : a distinction to 
which none of his chiefs pretended, and generally 
reserved for his nephew alone, who was to succeed 
him in the kingdom. Then, taking my hand, and 
looking me very seriously in the face : Tell me, O 
ambassador of the great King !” says he ; “ is your 
King truly, truly, greater than Havaoeekee ; greater 
than Paowanga ; greater than all the rest we wor- 
ship 

O king !” answered I, “ it is true indeed ; as true 
as that you have honoured me, His ambassador and 
servant, and placed me by your side. Let us only 
rest to-night after our weary voyage ; to-morrow, if 


THE CATHOLIC CBUSOl. 459 

you have courage, I will show you a proof of the 
power of my King.” 

He laughed at the idea of his not having courage, 
or not so much courage as I, who was a man oi 
peace ; till, his eye resting again on our muskets, he 
checked himself, remembering the fears he had felt 
at them before. 

By this time, the evening began to close in ; but 
as there was light enough still for a farew^ell shot, 1 
thought it best to wind up all I had said, by repeat- 
ing this evidence of our powers. I therefore re- 
minded him, we had faithfully kept to our promise 
of not exploding the fire-javelins hitherto ; but asked 
him, would he now desire to see how much stronger 
they were than any lance or bow in his country ? I 
promised that, to prove this, they should only explode 
once, as before. 

He hesitated awhile at this proposal ; then con- 
sulted again with his chiefs, amongst whom also 
there was a diflerence of opinion. Some appeared 
to think, once was quite enough for such an experi- 
ment ; but others had arrived on the spot since our 
conference began, and were eager to witness what 
they had heard so much talk of; till the rest, I 
suppose, were ashamed to show how great was their 
dread. At length, the king gave a sort of unwilling 
consent : on which, I asked for the strongest shield 
among his warriors to be brought before me. It 
was of hard wood, clumsily fashioned into a rude 
board of some thickness, which was strengthened 
with a double covering of uutanned goat’s hide. 
This was indeed the king’s own second shield, borne 


460 THE ADYSNTURBS OV OWEN SYANfl, 

after him in battle by his shield-bearer, in case of th« 
first being pierced or broken. I caused the shield to 
be placed upright, supported by two spears, at about 
half musket shot from where we sat. Then, calling 
aloud, I said, “ O warriors of Toonati-nooka ! strong 
are your arms ; swift and sharp are your spears ! Do 
your worst on yonder shield ; then stand aside, to see 
what the servants of my King can do !” 

At the king’s command, three of the strongest 
chiefs now stepped out ; and, after choosing their 
sharpest-pointed javelins, one after another hurled 
them against the shield. It was considered much 
above the average, in the way of darting, that their 
weapons should, at that distance, pierce through the 
two goat’s hides, and remained quivering in the 
wood of the shield. W^hen they had each delivered 
their spears, with the utmost force, the king turned 
to me with an air of trinmph, asking me what more 
I could do. I answered him, “ O king 1 this is indeed 
well done ; and I believe the arm of the strongest 
man could hardly do more. But my King has al- 
lowed us to possess weapons that put the weak on a 
level with the strong. To prove this, I will call on 
one of our warriors who was nearly dying a short 
time since, and has not yet recovered his strength 
and here I beckoned to one of the veteran invalids, 
whose pale, sickly looks confirmed what I had said 
of him. He was a very steady shot, however ; and 
I committed the proof to him with confidence. 

When he stood forth, the musket in his hands, 
there was the greatest consternation among those 
who had heard the last gun fired, and the greatest 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


461 


curiosity among those who had not. I think, by 
this time all the population of that part of the coun- 
try must have been assembled on the spot. There 
could not have been less than fifteen thousand men 
immediately about us; and the surrounding hills 
were covered with women and children. It was a 
»^ea of dark faces and eager eyes, all fixed upon our 
marksman. Indeed, when I considered the impor- 
tance of the stake on which I had now set every- 
thing, I almost wished I had not risked it. I betook 
myself inwardly to prayer, that all might go well. 

We made the king understand, a lane or avenue 
must be cleared behind the shield, to avoid all 
danger to his people : to which he showed himself 
very indifierent, in comparison with his curiosity. 
So dense was the crowd, it was with difficulty, and 
not without many blows, this was efiected. When 
all was ready, I again commended the matter to 
God, and bade the soldier fire. 

The report of his gun produced even greater effects 
than the former. There rose a shriek from the mul- 
titude, and from the hill, such as I never heard be- 
fore, nor ever wish to hear again. The whole assem- 
bly fell upon their faces, thinking they were wounded 
by the flash ; and only by degrees, first one and then 
another rose again, feeling their heads and arms to 
«ee whether they were whole. Then the chiefs ran 
to the shield ; and were astonished to find the two 
bullets (for the piece was double-loaded) had gone 
through hides, wood, and all, and lay on the ground 
beyond. These they brought to the king, together 
with the shield itselfl 


462 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

But when he had seen with his own eyes the pas» 
Age cut by the bullet, and examined the ball itself, 
he was the more confirmed in his belief, that it was 
the veritable thunder we carried in our guns. For 
it seems that meteor-stones had been known to fall 
in Toonati-nooka, in the midst of great thunder- 
storms: and he was fully persuaded, the bullets 
(which were beaten out of shape in their passage 
through the shield) were some such stones, only under 
our command, to launch or keep back as we pleased. 
This circumstance crowned our reputation ; the king 
ordered a robe of honour (a red and yellow cloak of 
birch-bark and bird’s feathers) to be brought, and 
thrown over my shoulders: also, he rewarded the 
marksman with a string of berries which he took 
from bis neck, and two hogs j which were sent to the 
palisade. 

We were now surrounded by the chiefs, who said 
a great many things in our honour. But I bade them 
only pay honour to the King who had sent me ; that 
we were but His servants, and all the power we pos- 
sessed came from Him j that He had commanded me 
to show other wonders beside these, and to tell all 
the people of Toonati-nooka some very good news, 
which we reserved till the following day: but that 
now we craved leave to retire. 

They crowded so closely round us, showing such 
anxiety to ask a multitude of questions, that we had 
great difficulty in making our way back to the boats. 
Our men, however, needed rest; therefore, after 
taking our leave of the king (who would scarcely let 
'i® S®>) were making our way back, when tba 


THI CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


463 


chief bard, whose office was, to chronicle the valiant 
deeds of the king and his warriors, stepped before 
me and chanted, to a kind of rude lute with. five 
strings, the following verses : 

“ Great is the King who sent His ambassador, 

Bearing in cjines the thunder and lightning 1 
Strong are the warriors of Toonati-nooka, 

Stronger the pale men beyond the salt water.” 

This song w'as taken up by the multitude and the 
chiefs ; nay, the king himself did not think it be- 
neath his dignity to join in it : and it swelled into a 
deafening shout, as they formed a procession to ac- 
company us to the palisade. Indeed, every one was 
now anxious we should come from this separation, 
and be with them : but I foresaw, it would be quieter 
and more secure for us to stay there, at least for the 
time. So they accompanied us to our quarters ; then, 
with many greetings, we dismissed the six chiefs who 
had been kept as hostages : they were wild to know all 
that had taken place. The multitude remained a 
great part of the night outside the palisade, lighting 
up large fires, and chanting the same song, and others 
which they made in our praise : so that it was difficult 
to get any rest for the noise. 

At day break the next morning, the king sent (in 
respectful terms) to beg we would come to him. As 
I was engaged in reciting my breviary, I sent back 
word, that I was then employed in the service of my 
King, but would come to him as soon as possible. 
Meanwhile, the crowd collected in such numbers 
Autside, and kept np such a continual talking with 
our two Indians, as greatly distm-bed me, and them 
also. At length, seeing no other help for it, I called 


464 THE ADVBNT0RR8 OF OWEN STANS, 

them, with the other men, to morning prayers, telling 
the savages we were going to speak tc our King, 
and* they must remain silent. So indeed, they did, 
with the utmost respect, not once mterrupting us. 
When this was finished, I opened my breviary again, 
■nd bade the Indians precede me, singing one of the 
hyms I had composed for them in their own language. 
So we all walked out very slowly, while I managed 
to recite my office. The multitude crowded round 
us, leaving us just room to walk; and they supposed 
this was some solemn procession we were engaged in. 
Nor did they offer to disturb us; but now and then 
they would break out, singing the verse their bard 
had made the night before : some who were nearest.^ 
and could catch the words that our two Indians sang, 
joined in them as well as they could : whence it came 
to pass, that they pronounced the sweet names of 
Jesus and Mary before they knew the meaning of 
the words. 

We found the king surrounded by his priests, pre- 
paring to offer a sacrifice to the idol of the place, 
Paowanga. He greeted me joyfully, with respect, 
and threw another string of berries round my neck, 
inviting me to take part with him in the ceremony. 
But I answered, I was then engaged in communicat- 
ing with my King, who was much greater than 
Paowanga, as I had told him last night. On this, 
the priest became very angry; and, pointing to where 
the idol stood, asked me was my King more powerful 
than this great lord of Toonati-nooka? I looked, 
and saw at a little distance, a monstrous and hideoui 
idol, rudely caiwod out of the stump of a large tree, 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


465 


This idol was of a terrible countenance, having an 
enormous mouth armed with shark’s teeth : into 
which, it seems, the poor deluded people used to put 
their offerings, such as hogs, goats, etc, (for the idol’s 
mouth would easily contain one of those animals,) 
together with yams, potatoes, bread-frnit, or whatever 
offering they brought. Sometimes, I believe, they 
did the same with human sacrifices. They supposed 
that Paowanga devoured all these things ; but th^ 
priests, who had their dwelling in a sort of college 
behind a palisade close to the image, had contrived a 
trap-door in the back of his head, and came to take 
out by night what the poor worshippers had put in 
by day; and so lived very comfortably, in great 
indolence. 

Part of this I had learned through our Indians ; 
but the particular fraud of the trap-door was discov- 
ered after what I am going to relate. For the pres- 
ent I answered the priests (who had already, as I 
could see, become our enemies,) that, if the king 
permitted, when I had done speaking to my King, 
we would see which was greatest, my King, or Pao- 
wanga. Then I walked quietly on, reading my book, 
my two Indians with me, still singing their hymns. 
As to the people, they seemed divided, whether they 
should follow us, or attend the sacrifice : but by far 
the greater part came with us, and I believe Pao- 
wanga never had so thin an attendance ; for this was 
a solemn sacrifice, which took place “ twice every 
moon,” as they expressed it. 

I went some little distance, out of sight : but could 
not get beyond the sound of their heathenish shout* 


460 THE ADTKNTURBS OF OWBN 1TAN8, 

Logs round the idol, nor the noise of the great instni* 
ments like drums, they beat in his honour, and which 
I afterwards found to be made of the skins of theii 
enemies slain or taken in battle, 

I knelt down, and prayed for some time with all 
fervour I could command, that our good Lord would 
inspire me with wisdom and courage for what was 
to follow. I also asked the two Indians, in a whisper^ 
whether they were prepared to share the danger I 
resolved to incur for the glory of God, to open the 
eyes of those idolaters at one bold stroke. 

They answered me, that they were prepared; for 
they were, in truth, so deeply imbued with our holy 
faith, I believe they would have felt no greater joy 
than to embrace martyrdom on the spot. Seeing 
the danger was so near, they asked for a little time 
for their confessions, which allowed me to finish 
part of my office. After this, I heard them, first the 
elder, then the younger ; motioning the savages to 
keep a little distance. They looked on with a re- 
spectful silence, as on something mysterious, which 
they understood not. 

When this was concluded, returning as leisurely 
as we came, we found the heathen sacrifice just over, 
and all round the king, waiting for us. 

“ Now, O king,” said I, “ if you will permit me 
to return to my companions, I will fetch a proof that 
Paowanga is no god at all : and if I fail to prove it,” 
added I, turning to the priests, “ I will give you leave 
to put me straight into his mouth.” At this, the 
king laughed greatly ; but I noticed the idolatrous 
priests to look at me, full of malice, and whisper to 


THB OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


467 


one another. “ Go,” then said the ting, “ O amhas- 
sador ! but how long will you be away? “Before 
the sun,” said I, “ has travelled over the little space 
between yonder tree-tops, I will come again.” 

On this, I took one of the two Indians with me ; 
but the other was kept back by the king, who wished 
to entertain himself by asking him a thousand ques- 
tions about us and our ways and customs. When I 
got to the boats, I asked the gunner’s mate of the 
wrecked vessel (who was one of our party) to make 
me up quickly a strong packet of powder, containing 
about three-quarters of a pound, with a slow burning 
match, a few inches in length. While he was doing 
this, I selected from a case of philosophical instru- 
ments which we had saved from the wreck, a stiong 
burning glass, or magnifier ; for I had already formed 
my plan. When the packet of gunpowder was ready, 
I went back with it in my hand, and arrived within 
the time I had promised. 

Presenting myself before the king, I spoke as fol- 
lows : 

“ O king!” I said, “when two chiefs contend in 
battle, or wrestle in a trial of strength, if one is 
able to lift the •ther off his feet, and throw him to 
the ground, is he not the strongest ?” “ Yes, indeed,” 
cried out the king and the chiefs ; and all the multi- 
tude repeated it after them. “ But,” I continued,“ if 
the chief sends one of his mere servants, with no 
weapon in his hand ; and the servant is able to throw 
down that other ; what will you say of the strength 
of the chief who sent him ?” “ O, O, O ” cried they 
all, in great surprise ; and listened for what I should 


468 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

say next. “ Now tell me,” I went on : “is Paowanga 
a mighty god ?” “ Oh, mighty, mighty !” cried out 

all the priests in chorus ; and the king, with some ol 
his chiefs, said it too ; but, I perceived, not with so 
much vigour ; for they had spoken with me. “ But 
how can you show me,” said I, “ he is so mighty ?” 
“ Oh,” said one of the principal among the priests, 
pointing to the idol, “ see how much he can eat !” 
In truth, one of the hind legs of a goat was even 
then sticking out of the huge mouth ; the rest having 
disappeared into the cavity of the trunk. And, it 
seems, among these savages, it is reckoned one of the 
great qualities of a chief to be able to devour enor- 
mous quantities of food. 

“Well,” said I, laughing, “ I am going to give him 
something to eat, too ; and if it does not prove too 
much for him, I shall think him very strong indeed.” 

So saying, I moved towards the idol ’v\dth iqy 
packet of gunpowder. 

Here the priests, suspecting some harm to their 
favourite, began to urge the king not to allow me to 
proceed. But he, with his chiefs, overcome by curi- 
osity, seemed anxious for nothing but to see the end. 
I promised, on my part, having once put something 
into Paowanga’s mouth for hun to eat, I would not 
approach him again. “ I have no wish,” said I, “ to 
be near him, since he is an enemy and rival to my 
King.” They scarce knew how to interpret all this; 
but there was the greatest silence and wonder among 
chiefs and people alike : except only the priests, who 
kept murmuring and scowling at me. 

1 walked up to the idol, inwardly praying to God 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


469 


to direct me ; then mounting the rude blocks, piled 
up like so many steps, by which worshippers came 
to make their offering to his mouth, I cried aloud, so 
that all might hear : “ O Paowanga ! it is not to hon- 
our or praise you, not to do you homage, that I now 
put this into your mouth : but, on the contrary, to 
show this king and all his people, that my King who 
has sent me hither is alone to be honoured or wor- 
shipped as God.” With that, I thrust the gunpowder 
into the idol’s mouth, taking care to expose the slow 
match to the sun : then swiftly pulling out my burning 
glass, I brought the sun’s rays to bear on the end of 
the match, which instantly lighted. Then I put the 
glass again into my pocket, came down the steps, and 
walked quietly back to the king. 

At.t. the people were standing at a respectful dis- 
tance from the idol, and I was not much afraid of 
their being hurt by the explosion. Notwithstanding, 
I begged the king to command then to remove 
farther off, which he did and they reluctantly obeyed. 
I motioned with my hand, that no one should stir ; 
but there was no need to command silence ; all being 
in anxious expectation of something, they knew not 
what. Their eyes went continually back and for- 
ward, first to the idol, then to me ; and I could see, 
they began to feel some contempt for him, for his 
not having avenged, by some great judgment, the 
public affront I had offered him. 

But two 01 three minutes, the match having now 
burnt to the powder, all on a sudden, there came a 
more terrific explosion than any thunder-clap thep 


47C THE ADVENTURES OF <i»WEN EVANS, 

had heard in their lives before. The image was rent 
from the top to the bottom ; his monstrous head cleft 
n twain, the shark’s teeth scattered into the air : and 
the whole trunk, loosened from the earth, tottered 
for a moment, then fell forward on its face, down 
the steps. It is impossible to describe the astonish- 
ment, the dread, that seized on the whole assembly. 
They fell down, as before, stopping their eyes and 
ears ; no one ventured to breathe or look up : until 
I ran and stood forth in the midst, having taken the 
king’s spear into my hand. “ So falls Paowanga,” 
I cried with a loud voice ; “ he falls by the hand of 
the meanest servant of the great King ! So soon or 
late, must fall every enemy of my King and my 
Lord.” With that, I struck the spear deep into the 
prostrate trunk. 

The people all answered with a shout, again and 
again repeated, in honour of my King above all other 
kings, and of my God above all gods. Then they 
commenced yelling forth frantically the verse they 
had learned ; and the sound, from so many thousands 
of throats, was like the roar of a cataract, and was 
taken up from the hills by the shriller voices of women 
and children ; 

“ Great is the King, who sent His ambassador, 
Bearing in canes the thunder and lightning 

only now they altered the third line, to suit the oo 
oasion, and sang, 

“ Strong was our god Paowanga but yesterday : 
Stronger the pale man beyond the salt water !” 

As to Paowanga’s priests, they knew not which 
way to turn, and would fain have made their escape j 


THB OATHOLIO CRUSOl. 


471 


but the people hemmed and pressed them in. They 
were afraid for their lives, and began to supj^licate 
for mercy : on all sides they were met by indignation 
and contempt. All at once, the king was seized with 
a furyv of hatred against his former instructors : he 
caught up his second spear, and shouting out the 
battle cry of his nation, hurled it amongst them, and 
struck down one of the highest in rank, who died 
instantly from the wound. This was the signal for 
the chiefs and the people, who rushed upon them, 
and commenced an instant massacre. 1 was horror- 
struck at the sight, and flew after the king, entreat- 
ing, imploring, in the name of my King, who desired 
not (I exclaimed) the death of His enemies, but that 
they should turn to be His friends. 

It was all in vain ; the movement had been too 
sudden, and my voice was drowned in the uproar of 
shrieks and yells that rose from the midst of the 
massacre. I could save the lives only of three, by 
staying the arms of the chiefs as they were hurling 
their spears ; and succeeded at last in making my 
voice heard. But, to my grief, when the tumult 
subsided, there were no less than nineteen dead 
bodies lying on the ground. 

Richly as these idolatrous priests had deserved 
their death, for the impositions they had practised 
on the people, I was afflicted beyond measure at theii 
tragical end ; having promised myself (it may be, 
presumptuously) the gratification of presenting to 
my Lord this whole nation, converted to Him with- 
out the shedding of one drop of blood. I cast my- 
self oumy knees beside the mangled corpses endeavo^ 


472 THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

mg to staunch their wounds, or to find so much as a 
token of life among them. Some, it is true, yet 
breathed ; but one after another they died under my 
hands, so sure and forcibly had the spear been hurled. 

It was a fresh cause of astonishment to the king, 
to see me thus engaged : he could not forbear to ask 
me the reason of it. “ Have I not said, O king I” I 
replied, “ that my King is all goodness and love ? 
He has no enemies, but those who make themselves 
80 ; and even those, He wins back by His patience 
and benefits.” 

“ Then why,” answered the king, did he not try 
and win back Paowanga ?” 

“ I will tell you, O king !” said I, amid tears and 
sighs, “ when my mind is more calm : at present, I 
grieve for those unhappy souls, who have been sent 
out of the world, enemies of my King.” 

But it was time to follow up the advantage God 
had given us. Wherefore, placing the few priests 
who remained alive, together with the families of 
them all in charge of the elder of my two Indians, I 
solemnly appealed to my King (raising my hand to 
heaven) to -witness, that they were thenceforward 
under His own protection, and no man’s hand must 
be raised against them. This I said in the presence 
of the king and his chiefs, with a resolute countenance ; 
by which they seemed in a manner over-awed, and 
at length promised it should be so. I then led him 
to the idol, on which the multitude were by this time 
heaping all kind of insults, hacking and hewing it to 
pieces. I showed the king the trap-door that was 
made in the back of Paowanga’s neck, by which the 


THB OATBOLIO CRUflOB* 


47a 


offerings placed in his mouth were appropriated tc 
the use of the priests and their families. This roused 
his indignation again, and that of the people ; foras- 
much as these ministers of an idolatrous worship were 
supported, besides, by a liberal contribution made 
throughout the district every new moon. But I re- 
minded him of his promise : sooner than a hair of 
their heads was touched, I demanded from him that 
the priests and their families should be given to my 
King, as His special servants. This he readily grant- 
ed; and from that time I was looked on as their 
special protector ; the people (for my sake) bemg so 
afraid of injuring them, they would not even go near 
them : though it was plain, they still regarded them 
with much hatred and contempt. 

It needed now but a short time to cleave the idol 
in pieces, and set him on fire. While this was pre- 
paring, the king desired to see my breviary, in 
which he had seen me read from time to time ; and 
asked me whether it was my oJ4)eeo. This is a word 
whereby they express a sort of charm, or amulet, in 
which they believe another of their false gods, named 
Havaeoeekee, resides.* I had heard of these amulets 
before, from our Indians ; and this appeared a favour- 
able occasion of finishing the work we had begun. 

“ Ko, O king !” answered I ; “ this is no oloeeo; nor 
does my King permit His servants to keep, or to be- 
lieve in, any such thing. Oloeeo, and Havaoeekee, 
who (you say) lives in it, are watee, watee (naught, 
naught,) even as Paowanga.” 

On this, the king and his chiefs all cried out again. 

•Sec above, p. 217 . — Ed. 


474 THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

Perhaps it was destroying their gods a little faster 
for them than prudence might warrant; yet I seemed 
to myself only to employ the occasion that now pre- 
sented. 

“ How ?” said the king at length, “ do you tell us, 
O wonderful man! thatliavaeoeekee is no more than 
Paowanga, whom you have destroyed ?” 

“ I will leave you to judge, O king !” answered L 
“ If Paowanga were indeed a god, would he not have 
avenged on me the insult I offered him ?” 

“True,” cried the king, and his chiefs assented; “we 
expected every minute to see you struck dead for that.” 

“ And what do you think of Paowanga now ?” 1 
asked, smiling. 

Upon which, the king and all around him made a 
gesture of the utmost contempt. 

“Well,” I continued, “ Havaeoeekee will do me no 
more harm than the other; and, if you will collect for 
me all the oloeeos you can find, I will burn them in 
the same fire with Paowanga.” 

“010 1” cried they, aloud : for it seems they wer#» 
in greater dread of these charms than of the idol it- 
self. Nevertheless, as I persisted in it, and assured 
them, if there were any vengrcance, it would fall on 
me alone, the king gave the word, and six or seven 
of these amulets called oloeeoi were collected from 
the neighboring huts. Then, seeing that the people 
had by this time made a mighty heap of fuel, and 
placed it on the prostrate stump, and all the other 
pieces of the idol they could gather after the explo- 
lion, I stood in the midst, my hands full of 
and cried aloud : 


THl OATHOLIO OUUSOB. 


475 


“ O Havaeoeekee ! if indeed thou art a demon in* 
habiting these things, and not a vain imagination of 
this deluded people, then thou knowest, O foul spirit, 
thou hast no power against my King ; of which I 
now give proof, by burning thy house over thy 
head !” On which I cast the oloeeos on the top of the 
pile, and bade the bystanders set fire to it. Then, 
while it blazed up, fanned by the wind into a mighty 
conflagration, the two Indians and I took up cur 
hymn again, and sang it slowly, till the multitude 
caught it from us ; and there arose from that vast as- 
sembly the words of a Christian hymn of praise to 
God, in regular cadence, louder than the roaring of 
the fire. 

When the blaze died down (and the whole thing 
was over m a short time, the people fanning the fire 
continually with mats, fly-fans, or anything they 
could lay hold on), the multitude rushed over the 
embers, treading them out and stamping them into 
dust with their feet ; as though they could not show 
contempt enough for the idol by which (and his min- 
isters,) they had been so long deluded. 

To celebrate this great eventj the king now pro- 
claimed a festival to be held by all his subjects ; ot 
whom the numbers that flocked around us were ever 
mcreasing. Presents from these poor simple savages 
were offered to us without measure ; so that, had our 
purpose been to enrich ourselves, we should have 
been able to do so on the spot. For they laid at my 
feet many silver ornaments, and even some of gold ; 
whereby I knew they had in their mountains some 


m 


THE ADYINTUBKS OP OWBN EVANS, 


veins, at least, of these precious metals, were thej 
but skilled in working them. But I put these pre- 
sents all aside, remembering that the Apostle was 
able to say to his converts, as a model for all pastors : 
A-TgeYitum et auTUTii^ aut vest&m nullius concupivi^ sicut 
ipsi scitis and I explained to them, the purpose for 
which my Kmg had sent me was to do good to them, 
not to grow rich upon them. I do believe this an- 
swer surprised them almost as much as the blowing 
up of Paowanga himself ; they had been so used to 
the extortion and tyranny of their petty chiefs, even 
up to the kuig, that anything like disinterested 
charity came to them as a novelty and a wonder. 1 
seized the occasion to preach to them something (in 
a guarded way) of the power and attributes, espec- 
ially the gratuitous love, of the One True God ; to 
which they listened with eager ears, especially those 
of the poorer sort. Truly, the gospel has ever been 
the emancipator of the oppressed. 

However, I did not feel justified in withholding 
from the brave seamen who had come to share my 
perils, any advantage they might derive from the 
good-will of the Toonati-nookans. I no sooner made 
this known, than the natives pressed upon them the 
presents I had refused. But, consulting for their in- 
terest, and wishing to obtain for them something 
more permanent than the heap of presents that lay 
before us, I conferred with them apart to know what 
were their views regarding their future lot. For 
myself, I said, I was bound by engagement to re- 


t “ I have not coveted any man’s silver, ?old. or aDMjBl 
\ you yourselves know.”— xx. 33.—:^, 


TSX OATHOLIO CRU801. 


477 


turn, after a certain time, to the island whence we 
bad come ; nor could I think (apart from my prom- 
ise) of remaining absent from my friends there more 
than eight to ten months, at most. I declared, how 
ever great this work of converting the heathen might 
prove (as it promised fair, hitherto), I must not 
abandon those children of the faith whom our Heav- 
enly F ather had thrown by such a providence within 
reach of the Sacraments. What I chiefly hoped, I 
said, was to be able to establish some regular com- 
munication between that island and Toonati-nooka ; 
and so either fetch ofi* our friends thence, if they 
were disposed to come and join us, or send some of 
our savages thither (after making good Christians of 
them) to help to plant and settle the place as a colony. 
That, in that case, having two flocks in difierent is- 
lands, I should think time and labour well spent in 
making passages in the long-boat, from one to the 
other, to attend to their spiritual needs so long as 
God might spare me. 

They deliberated not long upon this ; but all with 
one voice exclaimed, they desired nothing better 
than to stay on this island, where they had plenty foi 
their needs, and the good will of the inhabitants ; to 
say nothing of the consolations of their religion, 
which they possessed so long as I remained with 
vhem. To all these reasons I assented, only bidding 
them remark, they were now doubly bound to show 
a good Christian example to the savages among 
whom they were ; that all eyes would be on them, 
from day to day, and every action scanned ; and I 
implored them, for the love of all they held sacred. 


478 THE ADVENTURES OT OWEN BVANSi 

not (like too many who call themselves Christians) 
to throw any scandal in the way of the heathen that 
might hinder their conversion to the faith. This 
they seriously promised, one and all : and to prove 
their sincerity, they bound themselves on the spot to 
approach the sacrament of penance once a fortnight, 
or in three weeks at the farthest. Indeed, as it turned 
out, I am thankful to record, the greater part of them 
exceeded this measure; and not more than two fell 
off from it, of whose retributive and miserable end 
(if time permit), I shall have to speak in sorrow : if 
not in this writing, yet to those who may come 
hither in my life-time. For it affords a striking ex 
ample of the just judgment of God on such as sin 
against light, and with scandal. 

Having their determination made known to me, I 
came back from w’here we had spoken together, to 
the king and his chiefs (who, I found, were called 
tayakee^ a word signifying at once a brave warrior and 
a man of rank), and then the feast proceeded : but, to 
my great satisfaction, I had not to petition the king 
this time to send away his dancers. He had given 
express orders they should not appear, since it dis- 
pleased the white ambassador (so he called me) : 
though I learned afterwards, it was an invariable 
custom for the king to be thus entertained at his 
banquets. He made me sit next to him, and on his 
left hand ; which with them is the place of honour, 
because it gives more facility to the entertainer, 
whether king or chief, to put morsels of food with 
his own hand into the mouth of his guest. This was 
a distinction with which I would gladly have dis* 


THl OAtHOLIC ORUSOB. 


479 


pensed, had it been possible ; since the royal hands 
might have have been much improved by some ab- 
lution. His nephew, who usually occupied the left 
hand, being his heir and succesor in the kingdom, 
was for this time placed on the right. His discon- 
tent at what he considered a slight put on him by 
his uncle, began even then to work in his jealous 
mind, and soon caused us troubles which, even as I 
write, seem likely instruments of the enemy of souls 
against the reaping-in of the abundant harvest we 
might else have hoped for. 

The king, both then and afterwards, plied me with 
numberless questions about my country, my King, 
the number of his subjects, where He chiefly resided^ 
what was the form of His palice, how far was His 
capital from Toonati-nooka, how he should send an 
embassy to return the favour my King had confer- 
red upon him by sending us hither, and more en- 
quiries than I can here put down. 

I now found it necessary to answer him, that the 
great King by whose will I had come, was indeed 
5ie King of kings and Lord of lords; that His dwell, 
ing was in heaven, and His dominion over heaven, 
earth, and all things : that under Him only by His 
permission, other kings reigned, but quite in a difl 
ferent way ; some over islands, some over continents : 
that they were mere men like the king of Toonati 
himself, and me, bnt with a lawful authority which 
their subjects must obey, so long as they commanded 
nothing against the Great King in heaven. 

Here he interrupted me, asking with great eager- 
ness, whether I was indeed only a man like himseli ? 


480 THE ADYBNTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

I answered liimi was so in truth, and nothing more 
\ born like himself, and like himself, soon to die. “ But 
where,” said he, “ will you go, O white prince, when 
you die ?” To this I replied, if I was found faithful 
to my King when the great hook was opened I had 
told him of before, 1 should he taken up into the 
palace of my King, and be with him for ever. “ Oh,’ 
said he again, “ Oh ! you are faithful, faithful I you 
will go to Him, he sure you will go.” “ Kay,” said 
I, “ my King reads all the thoughts of my heart, 
always, and He sees many faults which no man can 
see. I cannot be sure of going to Him ; for He hae 
lent me many things to use for Him, and will reckon 
with me for them all.” 

He asked me, “ What things ?” then, pointing to 
the guns, which were piled up together, with one ol 
the mariners mounting guard, to prevent the savages 
from touching them: “ Were those dreadful light 
ning-tubes,” he asked, “ the things my King had lent 
me ?” To this I answered, by reminding him, I had 
said there were kkigs reigning on earth, men like 
ourselves ; that one of them, the king of Spain, was 
my earthly master, and the lightning-tubes belonged 
to him. “ Tlien,” asked he, “ which king sent you 
here to us, the king of Spain, or the great King, 
above ?” I replied, that being in attendance on the 
great King, I had received no direct orders from the 
king of Spain on this subject; that I was bound to 
obey the latter in all things lawful and temporal, but 
the great King at all times, in all things and places. 
This I tried to make as plain to him as I could ; but 
it was difficult to put such things in a language ill- 


THB GATHOLIO 0KD80B. 


481 


fitted to express them : nor did he seem to apprehend 
my meaning clearly. But one thing, I could see, 
gave him satisfaction ; for he perceived we had come 
on no mission from the king of Spain to disturb his 
temporal authority, nor sought to dethrone him nor 
lower him in the eyes of subjects. 

The king then returned to his questions, and asked, 
if the guns belonged to the king of Spain, and we 
Vere his subjects, but not sent by him, how did we 
become possessed of them ? Had we taken them from 
the king without his leave ? In reply, I gave a brief 
account of my being first left, with a few others, on 
the island from which we came ; then of a Spanish 
wreck that was drifted in thither: all which is too 
long to detail here, and belongs not to the purpose 
of my writing. Then he asked again, how long ago 
had the great King bidden me to come ? 1 told him, 
for some time I had been having it made known to 
me, more and more ; but had not at first been able to 
leave others to whom my King had sent me. On 
this he asked, with what voice the great King spoke 
to His servants to make known His commands ? 1 
endeavoured to explain something about the revela- 
tion made by God to His creatures, first through 
His prophets, then through His Church : distinguish- 
ing it from the interior inspiration whereby He speaks 
to our individual hearts. I told him, it was in this 
latter way that I knew my King’s will in this case, 
being out of reach of those who could tell it me by 
an exterior voice, and with authority from Himself. 

“ Ah then, ” said he, “ you have priests among you 
aljBO, as we have ?” I replied, that I myself was a 


482 


THK ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


priest of this great God; but that others, again were 
over me, and nearer to my King : and I was bound 
to consult them when it was possible, and take my 
commands from them in all things that concerned 
my duty. “ But, O white prince !” pursued he, 
bowing towards me, “if even you are an inferior 
priest, what greater powers have they who are 
nearer the King ? Have they more lighting-tubes 
(so he continued to call our guns) at their command 
than you have?’ I could not forbear smiling at the 
idea of Church authority being measured by an 
armament of musketry ; and I answered, that was not 
the kind of power I meant ; that these lightning- 
tubes were the property of the kings of earth, and 
were employed by them in their wars, one against 
the other, even as he employed javelins and clubs 
against the King of Havi-vavaoo. 

He then asked, what the superior priests could do, 
that I could not ? This made me enter the distinction 
of orders in the Church, the powers of the episcopacy, 
the succession of priests maintained by the Sacrament 
of Order, the supremacy of one Bishop of bishops 
in the centre of Christendom, and similar topics. 1 
scarcely touched, however, on the sacraments at all ; 
fearing to open at once to him the mystery of the 
Incarnation, with its stupendous consequences: and 
I resolved to keep this for a later conference. But 
it was difficult to evade his questions, so prompt and 
eager were they. His tsyakeet, or chiefs, sat round 
us, drinking in every word with the most fixed atten- 
tion: and at times, when any point of discourse 
pleased them, saying Oora, oara ! or else they turned 


THg OATHOLIO ORUSO*. 488 

to one another to express their satisfaction in a low 

tone. 

In short, I felt the providence of God had (so far) 
placed the conversion of these precious souls in my 
hands, all unworthy as I was of such a favour : and 
lifted my heart sincerely to Him, to beseech that no 
sin of mine, nor want of prudence in speech or act, 
might mar the working out of his great purpose. 
But for the present, I intimated to the king, with 
much respect, we had spoken enough. He seemed 
disappointed ; but I had resolved rather to give him 
less to think on, than to weary him with too much 
of these matters. 

After this, turning to another subject, he asked 
how long we purposed to stay with him ; at the same 
time saying, he should esteem it a happiness to him- 
self and his kingdom, to keep us so long as we chose 
to remain. To which I answered, for my own part, 
I had come to deliver to him the message of my 
King, and had no wish but to remain as long 
as the object of my embassy required; that when I 
departed, it would only be for a time, to confer with 
some whom I had left behind on the island I had 
spoken of ; that with the king’s leave, I would give 
them the choice, to remain in that place, or come back 
with me, and settle in Toonati-nooka. Or, if he 
preferred, I would carry over with me some of his 
subjects to colonize that small island, and so ply 
backwards and forwards, extending his dominions 
there, while I proclaimed my King’s message here. 
This was the substance of my discourse, to which aW 


484 THE ADTKNTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

listened eagerly ; and the tayakees began to whispeJ 
to one another, but so rapidly, and in such a low tone, 
1 could not catch their meaning. 

All that I said appeared to please the king, who ai 
once offered my followers as much land a-piece as 
one of their rude ploughs, drawn by two men (for 
they have neither oxen nor horses in the island) could 
mark out within the space of an hour. But, aftei 
thanking him for the offer, I preferred for them and 
for myself, a visit to his capital, and a journey 
through the island: after which, I said, we would 
determine whether to disperse ourselves through his 
dominions, or locate our party in one spot, and form 
a colony of white men. He agreed readily to give 
us our choice ; and so the affair ended for that time. 

The king soon after signified his intention of carry- 
ing us with him to his capital the following day, at 
day-break. To this I agreed, only stipulating for an 
hour’s delay, that I might offer a solemn sacrifice to 
my King. He seemed delighted at this proposal, and 
said, the best of the hogs and goats in that part of 
the island should be at my service. But I smiled, 
and told him, my King was not pleased with such 
offerings as these ; but had prepared a Victim, the 
only one worthy of being offered to Himself: and 
had committed this sacred function to my hands. 
On his inquiring, with great eagerness, what this 
victim was, I excused myself for the time from fur- 
ther explanation ; but I said, during my residence 
with him I should have much to say on this subject; 
and even thus, I could scarce free myself from his 
urgent curiosity on the subject 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


4S9 


I had brought with me all things needful for the 
celebration of the holy Sacrifice j and I determined 
to offer it on the very spot whence we had thrown 
down Paowanga : making the steps that once led to 
that hideous idol’s devouring mouth, become the steps 
of a true Christian altar. Accordingly, no sooner 
did I see the first dawn of light, than I prepared 
and blessed a quanity of holy water, wherewith 1 
sprinkled the whole place round about ; the steps also 
themselves, and some blocks of trees the natives 
brought at my request, which I disposed as a rude 
altar, and laid on them the small altar-stone I had 
brought, and some clean linen cloths. 

The heathens, all this while, stood round us in vast 
multitudes, and breathless silence, watching every- 
thing I did. When they saw the devotion with 
which my companions received the aspersion of holy 
water, they came pressing round by one impulse, 
and begged for their share. I imparted it to them 
willingly, hoping it might be a prelude to their future 
baptism. But I soon had reason to repent of my 
rashness : for the crowds who were behind, eager to 
receive the aspersion, pressed so much on the front 
rank, as to throw them into confusion ; and forcing 
them in upon me and my companions, we were all 
but suffocated by the mere pressure of the crowd. 

I cried out to them, in their own language, to keep 
some order; happily my voice reached one or two ot 
the chiefs, who came running to the spot with their 
spears, and laying about them vigorously with the 
butt-ends, preserved our lives ; or I truly believe we 
should have been trodden underfoot by the unreason 


486 THS JkDTENTURlS OF OWEN BYANg, 

ing zeal of those poor savages. This made me feel 
yet more, how large a field was open to me foi 
missionary laL^ur, if only I could occupy it. Yet, 
while I was thankful for being sent to so promising 
a harvest, I could not but deplore finding myseL 
alone, where ten times the number would hardly 
suffice for the work before me. But His strength is 
perfected in weakness; nor ever is His hand more 
visible, than where no human forces appear to account 
for a great result. 

Putting such thoughts aside except to direct my 
intention in offering the holy Sacrifice, I now prepared 
to say the first mass that was said in Toonati-nooka 
since the world began. I had brought with me all 
things needful for the celebration ; having received 
them (I may say) by the ministry of the winds and 
waves, when the wreck had drifted upon the island 
whence I came. When all was ready, with a great 
illumination of candle-nuts on the altar, beside my 
waxen tapers, I vested, with the usual prayers. I 
could not repress an abundance of tears at the 
thought of that solemn moment, the sanctification of 
another spot on God’s earth to His true worship and 
by His sacramental presence. Then, standing on the 
altar steps, I turned to the many thousands watching 
me with eager eyes ; and raisnig my voice, spoke to 
them much in this way : 

“ O men of Toonati-nooka 1” I exclaimed, “ many 
new and wonderful things have you seen since we 
came among you ; and we have given you tokens of 
the powers we bring with us, for your good, not youi 
deal ruction. But what I am to do is far more wondei> 


THB CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


487 


fill than anything I have hitherto done in this island I 
Though you will see nothing, and hear nothing, yet 
I pledge my truth as an ambassador of the great 
King” (here I lifted my hand to heaven,) “ that He 
is Himself about to come down, and be present 
among you, enthroned on this altar ” 

When I had said that, the multitude was thrown 
into great agitation ; and began to cry out, as with 
one voice, beseeching me that the great King might 
not come so near to them : for it seems, they made 
sure they should be consumed by fire, or struck dead 
with the thunder, at the awful presence of my King, 
The king of Toonati-nooka himself, with his chiefs, 
showed signs of much uneasiness at hearing what was 
to take place : he sent one of his principal chiefs 
personally to me, where I stood, beseeching me to 
intercede with my King, not to come personally 
among them : that he would send Him any tribute 
from the island, and acknowledge himself and all the 
inhabitants as His vassals, if only He would spare 
them that dread visit. But, in order to quiet their 
fears, I continued, with a smiling countenance : 

“ Do not imagine, O king and people of this island, 
the great King is coming to you in any way but ex- 
treme kindness and condescension. Ko ; He is so 
filled with good-will to you all, and so greatly wishes 
to manifest it, and to benefit you, that while He 
comes because He loves you. He comes concealed, 
lest He terrify you. You could not, it is true, endure 
the unveiled majesty of His presence ; for He is ten 
thousand times brighter and more glorious than this 
lun now ri g over the moa tains. His voice causes 


488 


THE APYINTURBS OF OWEN ETANS, 


the great powers of His court to tremble, while they 
bow before Him. His frown is unendurable in terror. 
But now even, as a prince may walk among his sub- 
jects under disguise, in poor raiment, so the great 
King is coming down among you ; yet you will not see 
Him, you will not hear Him. I, His ambassador, prom- 
ise you this. You will hear nothing even so loud 
as my voice is at this moment that I address you. 
He is coming by reason of His love for you, to teach 
you to be happy in loving Him. I only ask you to 
believe me, that He will be in the midst of you un- 
seen. When you hear this little shell sound, (here I 
showed them a small bell we had made for Mass out 
of a sea-shell,) then throw yourselves on your knees^ 
pray the great King to make you able to know Him 
and to love Him. I too, will ask of Him the same 
favour for you all.” 

This discourse struck them with the greatest aston- 
ishment. Of course, they could not comprehend my 
meaning, nor so much as guess at it : but they wei*e 
over-awed, and in suspence, at what was about to 
take place. Having thus prepared them, I proceeded 
with holy Mass, my companions kneeling around, 
and the younger of the two Indians (for this, I 
thought, would impress them more) serving at the 
adorable Sacrifice. The most profound silence 
reigned through the vast multitude, though it was 
the silence of intense expectation, not the reverence 
of faith. At length, when young Samuel sounded 
the little shell, I heard a rush behind me, around me, 
of thousands falling on their knees at the same 
moment. It was like the sound of a mighty catar 


CATHOLIC ORtrSOB, 


489 


ract; it almost overcame me with emction, but 
served to direct my intention more earnestly for the 
conversion of those poor heathens, for whom I was 
offering the Spotless Lamb to the Eternal Father. 
Through the remainder of the holy Sacrifice there 
was no sound, nor interruption from them : they 
remained kneeling, and looked on with the same in- 
tense curiosity, till they saw it was over, and I began 
to take off my vestments again. Then the king ap- 
proached me, and bade me to the morning meal : but 
I excused myself, till I had spoken a little farther to 
my King ; to which he consented, and left me for a 
while. 

When I joined the king at table shortly after, he 
plied me with questions as to what I had just been 
doing. I answered with much reserve ; telling him, 
these things were not yet lawful for me to speak to 
him about : that he could not know what they meant 
till the holy water of life had been poured over him. 
They were (I said) such hidden mysteries as he could 
not so much as conceive of: but they formed the 
highest mode of communication with my King, one 
that He had especially appointed, and by means of 
which He became most truly present to His subjects. 

I could see that he wondered all the more at, my 
speaking so : but, turning the conversation, I asked 
him, to what part of his dominions he was now about 
to carry us. He answered, that all the island was 
open to us, to visit or settle in as we chose ; but said, 
he wished first to take us to his capital, and show us 
to the queen, as well as to his mother and the rest of 


490 THB ADVENTURES Of OWEN EVANS, 

his family : also, that many things had come into his 
mind in which he was sure I and my companions 
could improve the condition of his people : a favour 
he begged me earnestly to grant. I answered, all 
the servants of my King were bound to assist those 
who were in want, either by imparting knowledge, 
or in any other needful way of help. It was true (I 
said) that in our own country we had a better method 
of building than was shown in the huts around us ; 
also of cultivating the ground, so far as I observed. 
In this latter respect, however, my King had been 
very good to him and his subjects ; giving them a 
favourable climate and fertile soil, that needed little 
care, and produced of itself the fruits and veegtables 
they needed. I then described to him a winter in 
Europe ; having in the course of my life been both in 
Netherlands and Poland, I told him, I had seen the 
ground, the hills, the rivers, and the very roofs of 
the houses, all muffled in & covering of white, colder 
than the coldest rivers m Toonati nooka, that lay in 
some places several feet thick, for weeks, nay, months 
together. The rivers and lakes, I said, became as 
hard as a stone and so smooth, that the inhabitants 
fastened pieces of iron or bone to their feet, by means 
of which they ran for miles upon the surface of the 
wat3r,much faster and easier then they could run on 
the ground^ more like to birds flying through the 
air : and even little children could become skilful in 
this. 

Nothing could exceed the astonishment with which 
T was listened to by the whole assembly. They in- 
terrupted me several times, and shouted with wonder, 


THl OATUOLIO ORUSOB. 


491 


after their manner ; then imitating the actions of skat- 
ing and sliding, as I described them, they besought 
me to give them this power, or obtain it for them. 
The king urgently asked the same : adding a request 
that (if it were possible) he and some of his chief 
warriors might be furnished with eagle’s wings, that 
they might soar above the men of Hai-vavao in bat- 
tle, and pounce down on their villages. To all this 
I replied, that my King gave diiferent gifts and pow- 
ers to His servants, as it pleased Him in His great 
wisdom : that Toonati-nooka had been placed by Him 
so near the sun which He made to warm the earth, 
that this white covering would never come on the 
ground, nor the water harden. But if he could not 
hope to see that wonderful sight, I assured him, he 
and his people were preserved from much suffering 
which the men of those countries had to endure; 
then I told him, the cold there was sometimes so 
great as caused the fingers and toes, nay the very 
noses of the inhabitants to drop off, and even took 
away their lives, by casting them into a deep sleep. 
Then I described the sagacity of the dogs of Mount 
Saint Bernard, in finding travellers over that mount- 
ain, who perishing in the snow ; but first (I found) I 
had to give some description of a dog, to which they 
have no notion, there being none in the whole island, 
nor in Hai-vavao. 

To his second request I made answer, that my 
King (whom I now began to call by the name which 
came nearest to express the True God, UtumaXahee *) 

* The reader will observe, on relerrmg to Owen Evans' 
aarrative, at pp. 314, a slight discrepancy in the names of 


492 TUB AUYBNTURBS OF OWBN BYANB, 

had not granted wings to human creatures ; though 
He had countless servants and messengers who could 
fly with the speed of light : that for us, here below, 
there was hope held out of one day being as swift 
and glorious as they ; but this great privilege was to 
be gained by obedience to the King until the moment 
of our death. “ But will you O, white ambassador,” 
asked the king, “ one day shine as bright as the sun 
above us ?” I answered that he himself, with every 
one of his subjects, if they would acknowledge my 
King for the true God, and have the water of life 
poured over them in Kis name and if they thencefor- 
ward lived according to His laws, might attain even 
to such a glory. 

This, again, w^as something quite new to them : for 
it seems, their highest notions of future happiness 
were, to be transported after death to a large island 
beyond the setting sun, where (that is, the brave, for 
coui-age was their chief standard of goodness) would 
4)end an existence between hunting immortal bufia- 
loes and other w^ild animals, and intervals of a drunken 
sort of repose. To secure their friends’ enjoyment 
of this heathenish heaven, they had a custom ol 
burying with them two javelins, as well as their 
bow and arrows, and a drinking cup of cocoa-nut 
shell, the best they could procure ; this they imagined 
would be filled with some intoxicating beverage, bet 
ter than the best palm wine : one draught of which 

their idols, as given here by Don Manuel ; though not more 
perhaps, than may be accounted for by the difference of the 
•ame foreign word when pronounced by two persons, especi- 
ally when their own native languages also differ from each 
Other. Ed. 


THE CATHOLIC CRCSOB 


49S 

would make them forget all the sorrows and pains 
of this life, and the agony of death itself. 

Coming hack to the other point on which I thought 
to improve the temporal condition of the men of 
Toonati-nooka, I mean their buildings, I explained to 
the king how we built stone houses in Europe ; that 
we joined the stones by a cement, or mortar, made 
of burnt lime and sand, and roofed them with a kind 
of flat stone, more durable than leaves : how many 
rooms we made in them, how high we raised them, 
how strong they were to resist winds and weather, 
etc. He listened with the utmost interest, and then 
asked me to tell him truly, how high were our high- 
est houses. I feared to compromise my character 
for truth, even when I answered him most truly. But 
knowing that simplicity is almost always the truest 
wisdom, I measured with my eye some tall cocoa- 
palms that grew near the scene of our banquet, then 
recalled to my mind the tower of the cathedral of 
Seville ; and I answered the king, we did not reckon 
a building extraordinary high that was three times 
the height of those palm-trees. This caused another 
shout of wonder; till I showed them in miniature 
our mode of building ; piling up some small stones, 
while I bade them remark how to make the stones 
rest one on the other, like a pyramid, or strengthen 
each other like an arch. But this instruction came 
to little in the end ; for I learned the island was sub- 
ject to shocks of earthquake ; though not very fre- 
quent, nor (in general) so violent as in other volcanic 
countries, yet enough to make them prefer light huti 
of reeds or slight timber, of one story high. 


t94 


THB ADTBNTUBBS OB OWBN BTAVB, 


All being now ready for our departure into the m 
terior, I bade my companions draw together in 
marching order, and keep in strict discipline : for we 
were surrounded by such crowds as might (with all 
their dread of our guns) have overwhelmned or 
trodden us down at any moment. But the king 
commanded his own body-guard to keep close to us, 
and fence off the multitude, so that my men suffered 
little inconvenience. For myself, the king insisted 
on my being carried in a covered litter or palanquin, 
next to his own, and with precedence over his own 
nephew. Urge what I might, he would not be 
overruled in this ; at length, after several denials, I 
was forced to yield, though I not only disliked the 
honour, but foresaw how it would embitter the mind 
of this savage (whose name was Toonhoeca) still 
more against us. 

Before leaving the boats, I placed one of our men 
in each, with the young Indian to serve as interpre- 
ter: not satisfied with this, I begged the king to 
command his subjects to leave them untouched. He 
did this sternly enough ; and besides, he proposed to 
me to declare the men, the boats, and al^ the stores 
they contained, emoe* or holy, and not to be touched 
by any one for two moons, or pain of death. But, 
in spite of the advantage to be secured from this 
proposal, I could not bring myself to accept it ; feel- 
ing it was probably an observance in some way con* 

• Something, it may be supposed, like the mvsterious tabo4 
existing in the islands of Polynesia, which appears to be some 
religious restriction affecting persons, places, and even things; 
but the nature of which has never been fully aso»rtained.— 


THIS CATHOLIC CRU80*. 


495 


nected with their idolatry. I therefore preferred to 
trust to our good God for the safety of the men and 
boats : and I charged them to stand olf shore and 
keep on their guard, never sleeping all at one time, 
day or night. I promised that, if all turned out 
well with me, I would come or send for them within 
four days ; and I left with them five muskets and 
two brace of pistols among them, strictly charging 
them not to fire for mere amusement, but at the 
endeavour in every way to keep the natives friendly, 
at the same time keeping them at a safe distance. 

I then left them, with by blessing ; and returning 
to the king and those around him, found everything 
ready for our departure. The king had only waited 
for me ; and immediately stepped into his palanquin, 
which was lying on the ground, inviting me, by 
waving his hand, to do the same with mine. Then 
Toohaeca, the nephew^ likewise entered his palanquin 
with a scowl of rage at my precedence, which the 
king still insisted on. These palanquins are made of 
frame-work of light bamboo, very easy and springy* 
lined with soft grass or moss ; they are home on the 
shoulders of four men a-piece, who in consideration 
of such service, have many privileges, and are ex- 
empted even, from war, except in case of invasion. 
They carried us swiftly, at a round trot ; and the 
swinging of the palanquin was so easy, that after 
excitement and fatigue I had gone through, it lulled 
me into a deep sleep, so that I lost the opportunity 
of observing much of the country we passed through, 
on our way to the capital. 


496 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

This capital, indeed, when at length we reached 
it, was a wretched collection of bamboo huts, built 
without order or plan : each hut was little more than 
a number of bamboo poles, stuck into the ground in 
a rude circle, made to meet at the top, and bound 
loosely together with the tough tendrils of a creep- 
ing plant, leaving a vent for the smoke of the cook- 
ing fire to escape. The huts of the tayakees, or 
chiefs, it is true, were built with somewhat more care^ 
and were larger than those of the common sort ; but 
even these were ill-built, comfortless places : and all 
the skill of the natives seemed to have been spent 
on the royal hut, which occupied the north side of a 
square, or cleared space, measuring about fifty yards* 
every way. This hut, or series of huts, diflered from 
the rest in having upright posts of larger trees driven 
into the ground for the walls or supports. These 
were woven in and out with oziers and young bam- 
Doos, laid horizontally, and the interstices stuffed 
with moss, bark of trees, and long grass from the 
savaunhhs or meadow lands. The roof was formed of 
bamboo poles placed slopingly on the uprights, to 
shoot off* the wet in the rainy season; and was 
thatched with the leaves of the cocoa-palm, and an- 
other large and tough leaf from some tree which I 
had never yet seen. 

Around the king’s own hut, just under the eaves. 
I observed a horrid barbarous ornament indeed ; be- 
ing a row of human heads, some of them dried in 
the sun, till the skin looked liked tanned leather ; some 
wasted away, till little more than the skull-bones re- 

• Six hundred palms. Ed. 


THH CATHOLIC CRU80B. 


497 


mained. F «ui other heads were stuck on poles before 
the entrance, two on either side : besides these, I saw 
a number of the large human bones grouped m fanci- 
ful patterns over the doors and by the door-posts. I 
afterwards learned that the heads under the house- 
eaves had been those of some of the bravest of the 
king’s enemies, either killed in battle, or reserved 
(according to their dreadful custom) to be sacrificed 
and eaten on their return home after a \ ictory ; but 
the heads on poles were those of noted rebels, who 
had attempted to usurp the kingdom, once in the 
reign of the king’s father, Matai-tehepa, and still 
further back, in that of his great-uncle, Eyca-Sou- 
saeeo. 

By this time, our palanquin had been set down be- 
fore the entrance ; and the king, observing my eyes 
fixed on those hideous proofs of their barbarous cus- 
toms, exclaimed several times, m great delight, “ Hai- 
vavaoo !” to make me know these trophies had come 
from that hostile island ; at the same time brandishing 
his spear. Then, seeing from my looks what I thought 
of the whole scene, he took my hand, in order to 
divert my attention, and led me into the hut. 

Here we found the queen, surrounded by her 
attendants, prepared to receive and welcome us : for 
the news of our arrival, and all the wonders we had 
worked at the sea-coast, had come before us on a 
thousand tongues. It was all I could do to prevent 
the queen from falling at my feet, by telling her I 
was nothing in myself but a poor mortal, like those 
who surrounded me : that I claimed all honours for 
my King, none for myself ; and that the truest way 


498 TUB ADYBNTURES OB OWEN ETAN8, 

to pay Him the reverence due to Him, was to listen 
to His message. 

She answered with much humility, that, by all 
accounts, I had given proofs enough of my embassy 
from a great King ; that, in spite of my disclaimers, 
every one in Toonati-nooka, from the king down- 
wards, felt prepared to acknowledge us as a race of 
demi gods, rather than men ; that, for her part, she 
was only desirous to learn what was the will of that 
mighty King from whom I came, to fulfil it in all 
things not contrary to the customs of her nation and 
the will of her royal husband : with much more to 
the same effect. 

All this was delivered with a natural and simple 
grace, that augured well for her candour and good 
disposition to receive the truth. The king also 
showed his approval : then, thinking I must be weary, 
he led me into a separate hut that had been prepared 
for me ; and, telling me a feast would be held in an 
hour’s time to celebrate my comiug to his capital, 
advised me to sleep till then. I inquired after my 
companions, and what preparations had been made 
for them. He assured me they had been well taken 
car© of ; that some of the principal people in Ehoto- 
boe, his capital, had vied with each other for the 
privilege of entertaining them ; and that most of them 
were lodged m the chiefs’ huts : all which I found to 
be true. However, I felt anxions to warn the men 
again, and put them on their guard as to their be- 
haviour with the savages ; so, begging the king for 
some escort who would show me their lodging, he 
gave me one of the chiefs who always attended him, 


¥HS CATHOLIC CRUSOB. 


4 $^ 

and a youth who was of the blood-royal (though not 
in a direct line of succession) to go with me. 

We made the round of the principal huts in the 
place where I found the men treated with great hon- 
our and distinction, after the rude fashion of their 
entertainers. But, as they had made little or no 
progress in the language of Toonati-nooka, their 
conversation was carried on chiefly by signs, with a 
few words of each language, which had been picked 
up by either party, and were now repeated amid 
shouts of merriment by these new allies. I warned 
my companions one by one, how necessary it was to 
remain at peace with the natives, giving no cause of 
offence, but keeping on the watch, especially with 
regard to our guns, in which lay our superiority against 
their overwhelming numbers. But they assured me, 
the natives had still so great a dread of these weap- 
ons, they had shown uneasiness till they had been 
safely put away : accordingly, they showed me their 
guns, which every man had put in the corner of the 
hut, keeping still his pistols in his belt. As the na- 
tives had neyer seen any of the pistols fired, they 
had more curiosity about them than dread ; and even 
when their use was explained to them, seemed rather 
amused at them than otherwise. They supposed 
them to be worn for ornament, and called them by a 
phrase which may be translated, pigmy thunder^ 
cases. 

This duty performed, I returned to my hut, still 
accompanied by my two guides, who seemed to think 
it a part of the obedience they owed to the king to 
keep close to me. Indeed, they helped me in ways 


600 


THR ADTBNTUTIES OF OWEN EVANS, 


I could have dispensed with ; for, on our walk, did 
we but come to a broken path, a little brook, or any 
impediment which in their eyes justified the proceed- 
ing, they fairly lifted me in their arms, and carried 
me over. 

By this time the feast was prepared ; we were 
summoned to it by three stout trumpeters, who blew 
such a blast on hollow goats’ horns as rather sounded 
like a charge to battle. The banquet was as abundant as 
goats’ flesh, sea and other birds, and the vegetables of 
the island, could make it: but I observed that no kind 
of corn was produced, though the natives make a sort of 
bread, or thin cake, as a great delicacy, from the roots 
of a certain tree, grated, dried and baked. I was 
pleased to think I should be the instrument of giving 
them so great a blessing as that of wheaten corn, of 
which I had brought a bag Tvdth me. This I ex- 
plained to the king, who seemed impatient, from my 
description, to possess so great a treasure ; and said, 
they need no longer make their bread out of a poison- 
ous root,* but from the white man’s wholesome gras^^ 
this being the only word in their language by which 
I could express corn. He asked me various questions 
about our mode of growing, grinding, and the other 
arts of the farmer and the baker ; but nothing aston- 
ished him so much as the description I gave of ship- 
biscuit, and the method employed in our dock-yards, 
of rolling it out and cutting it up. 

♦Probably the manioc, from which the cassava bread of the 
West Indies is baked, after carefully grating the root and 
pre88in|^t with heavy weights, to extract tlie poisonous 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. <)01 

Neither the queen nor her attendants took any 
part in this banquet, it being against the lawsol their 
forefathers for the women to eat with the mem In- 
deed, in this, as in all other heathen countries, these 
poor creatures seemed to be looked on as inferior 
beings, and were condemned to hoe in the fields, 
bear heavy burdens, and in a word, to slave through- 
out the day, almost as if they were captives taken in 
war ; while their lords and masters took their ease in 
smoking and conversing, when they were not absent 
at war or in the chase. The king asked me how all 
this was arranged with us; but I answered him with 
caution, fearing to make him despise our holy religion 
by telling him anything so strange as that the Gospel 
had raised to a spiritual equality with men those be- 
ings whom heathenism oppressed and degraded. 

The feast was scarcely over, when we saw two 
men running with the utmost swiftness from the 
direction of the coast whence we had journeyed. No 
sooner were they perceived, than the whole assembly 
cried out, something must be amiss ; and my mind 
instantly misgave me about the boats, and the men 
I had left in them. Some of the tayakees darted off 
at full speed to meet these messengers, and learn 
their tidings : they, however, persisted in coming 
on to the king, though so much exhausted by run- 
ning, that when they reached the mat where he was 
seated, they fell down before him panting, and were 
unable to utter a word. But by degrees, in broken 
sentences they made it known, our men had been 
surprised in the boats by some of the natives, and 
been deprived of their arms; and that the boats 


602 THE ADTENTDRES OF OWEN EVANS, 

themselves had been dragged ashore, broken up, and 
burnt. 

Instantly the king broke into the most terrific rage 
I ever beheld in mortal man. Forgetting his late 
contempt for his idols, he called for the vengeance of 
Paowanga, Havaeoeekee, and the rest, on these violat- 
ors of our rights ; assured me they should receive 
the punishment they deserved : then, turning to his 
executioner, bade him depart at once for the coast 
village, and bring him the heads of all who had 
been concerned in this, with those of their wives and 
children. At the same time he beckoned out two or 
three chiefs to go and assist to carry out this decree 
of blood. 

But I threw myself before them, entreating them 
to pause ; then appealed to the king, that as the of 
fence was committed against me, so I might judge 
the case myself, with the prisoners brought safely 
before me. It was with much difficulty I prevailed 
in this ; so greatly w^as his rage excited against the 
criminals in this lawles deed. He felt, indeed, his 
authoiity over his subjects, and his honour towards 
myself, both equally touched by what had been 
done. 

At length, when I represented that my King was 
always angered when vengeance took the place of 
justice in the hands of human kings, and when they 
made the innocent sufler for the guilty, he gave way, 
and signified that I should have my wdll. It was 
now arranged that the young Indian should go with 
three chiefs, bearing the king’s tsiand of peace (which, 


TH* OATHOLIO ORUSOl. 


503 


truly, was sent by bim much less often than the 
sword of execution,) in token that no blood was to 
be shed on the spot. They took with them some 
forty or fifty armed men, and were to arrest all 
against whom there was probable evidence that they 
were parties to this outrage ; but none others : they 
were to bring these to us, bound, without torture or 
ilhusage. I^east of all were they to harm the fami- 
lies or relations of the accused. All this charge I 
delivered to my young Indian : whose discreet be- 
haviour on receiving it, together with the miidne. s 
of the injunction, produced a great efiect on the 
bystanders. Their sense of justice (so tar as 
they had it) taught them to compare this line of 
conduct with the outbursts of ferocious vengeance 
they had been so long used to. All agreed, there must 
be something very happy in living under the laws ot 
that great King I served, whose service I desired to 
teach them. Thus, all tended to good under the 
Hand of Providence : this very event, disastrous in 
itself, became a vehicle for the gospel. 

I was now surrounded for hours by eager crowds, 
listening to all I had to say about the justice which 
man owed to his brother man, and the charity which 
linked each true Christian soul to his fellow Christ- 
ian. Then I described the unity and perfection of 
God ; the impossibility of there being more than 
One ; that idolatry was invented by a bad spirit, the 
enemy of mankind, to lead men away from God, 
and make them miserable with himself here, and 
after death, etc. When I had wound them up to a 
great pitch by saying this, I started up on a sudden, 


504 


THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


crying ont : “Down with all idc!s ! There is no God 
but One 1” The whole multitude caught up the cry : 
and pulling me by the skirts of my cassock towards a 
huge idol near the king’s palace, besought me to pm 
thunder into his mouth, as I had done to Paowanga. 

But this time, I resolved it should be their own 
act and deed. So I reasoned with them, saying, my 
King would be more pleased with them for using 
their own hands than mine to destroy His enemies: 
that I had blown up Paowanga and burnt the oloeeos^ 
while they still believed in them ; but now, they hav- 
ing confessed my King for the true God, I gladly 
committed the work to them. Upon which, they 
assented with much joy, and I gained time to recite 
my office while the work of destruction went on. 
So many were the hands employed, and so great tlie 
zeal, that before the sun went down, almost all the 
oloeeos in Ehoto-boe (except a few remaining in the 
houses of some obstinate old idolaters, whom I had to 
protect from the public indignation) w^ere consumed 
in one blazing pile, together with the fragments of 
the three great idols worshipped in the capital, viz. 
Tamata-Sollu,* who in their system represents the 
sun, Chondodueea, or the moon, and our former ac- 
quaintance, Paowanga, who was indeed, before these 
two eventful days, the established idol of all Too- 
nati-nooka. In short, I had to interfere several times 
to settle disputes among these poor savages, who in 

* Here again, on a comparison with Evan’s narrative p. 
216, will be found that degree of discrepancy between two 
Indian words, which would result from their being caught 
by the ears, and repeated by the lips, of European belong 
lug to different nations. £p. 


fHE CATHOLtO CRT) SOB. 505 

their new-born zeal were anxious to have each hw 
morsel or chip of the idol, to carry to the flames. 

On a review of all this, I could not but wonder ut 
the rapid progress of Truth in the minds of these 
idolaters, who now first heard it. Yet, knowing the 
subtlety of the enemy of mankind, and taking into 
account the mconstancy of most savage dispositions, 
I prepared myself for any check or reverse that 
might occur. Seldom has the Gospel been sown, but 
in the blood of those who carried forth the precious 
seed. On this reflection, I ofiered my life anew to 
my Lord ; beseeching Him that, whether by my la- 
bour, or sufiering, or both, His truth might be sown 
abundantly in the hearts of those around me; and 
that in the end “ coming I might come with joy, 
bearing my sheaves.” 

But the thing which above all afflicted me, was 
thao this great task of converting a large island to 
the faith, was committed to one feeble pair of hands : 
seeing it might well exercise the zeal of a whole 
college of priests and catechists. I also ardently 
longed for the presence and gentle humanizing in- 
fluence of some consecrated sisters of religion, to speak 
to the poor heathen women, who were sunk in a 
state of darkness and degradation equal to that of 
their savage lords. I could do no better than send 
up sighs from my inmost heart to heaven, that our 
merciful Lord would deign to fit me to gather in 
some handfuls, at least, of this wide harvest. 

The last thing we did that evening was, to build 
up an altar for my Mass of the morrow ; for I had 
brought all requisites with me from the sea-coast, 


506 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

and thus the most precious of our possessions had 
been saved from the robbery. I no sooner made 
known my wishes to prepare this altar, than the 
crowds around all began to supplicate for a share in 
the work. They urged, with the simple earnestness 
of children, that as they had a hand in destroying 
the idols, I should allow them to take part in erect- 
ing an altar to my King. As however, the confusion 
caused by so many would have hindered instead of 
helping the work, I selected twelve strong men who 
stood nearest to me, and eight others by lot ; direct- 
ing them how to proceed, and to bring large stones 
to the centre of the space cleared for the royal 
palace or hut: arranging these stones in a square 
form, and to a convenient height. 

While I was thus employed, raising my eyes, I 
beheld the enemies’ skulls that decorated the palace- 
door and eaves, grinning on me hideously j and I 
observed also the bones and other trophies of war. 
These, I determined, should be removed before the 
sacrifice of the Spotless Tamb was celebrated in that 
place. At the same time, knowing that I was now 
about to lay the axe to the very root (or one great 
root) of the poison-tree of their heathenism, and was 
likely to offend their warlike pride, I resolved to 
proceed with caution. Wherefore, going to the king 
(who had bidden his attendants admit me at all times 
to his hut,) I represented, that among the titles my 
King most delighted in was, Prince of Peace ; that 
war, indeed, might be undertaken on a just cause, 
but then must be conducted with as much mercy ai 
the success of it made possible ; that to insult a van* 


THB OATUOLIO ORUSOB. 


507 


<|iiishe<l foe by banging up his mortal remains was 
a thing contrary to the spirit of my King, and tc 
right reason. This was the way I put it ; since to 
speak to savages of the duty of avoiding barbarous 
and savage acts, would be a foreign language to them 
Indeed. There was a dilference, I acknowledged, 
between the case of enemies and malefactors ; by 
which I excused his keeping in some place the heads 
of those traitors on poles, to warn others against 
following their evil deeds. But I pleaded, that as I 
was about to offer a solemn sacrifice to the King of 
Peace, all such mementos of crime and blood should 
be removed from this particular spot : otherwise, 
said I, myself will remove, and complete this holy 
solemnity in some place apart. 

On this, the king cried out, he desired above all 
things the same sacrifice he had seen performed in 
the coast village, Maheine-taho, should be repeated 
in the court bef< »re his own dwelling ; and though, 
he acknowledged, I had asked a hard thing, and 
what was unheard of before, seeing these trophies 
were reckoned so many proofs of the valor of him- 
self and his tayakees^ ypt, sooner than appear to 
slight my King’s will, he would order them to be 
removed. This was accordingly done, much to the 
wonder of the multitude, who could not comprehend 
the reason of it, and for the first time showed some 
symptoms of murmuring. However, the skulls, 
poles and all, were taken into the king’s hut and set 
up over the place where he was used to dine, and 
also to receive audiences and administer justice : at 
least such justice as was known in Toonati-nooka, of 


608 THE ADVENTURES OF OAVBN EVANS, 

which I was soon to have a specimen. As to the 
other heads, bones, scalps, and the rest of those 
barbarous trophies, 1 persuaded him at length, 
though with much difficulty, to let them all be bur- 
ied in one pit beyond the precincts of the court- 
yard. 

I promised, on my part, if he would consent to 
this, I would write an inscription over the spot, both 
in his native language and my own, setting forth 
the valor and triumphs of Para-mararna and his brave 
tayakees. This idea pleased them all exceedingly — 
and the king himself became so impatient to have 
it done at once, that he seemed to have forgotten 
what he was so eager about a few moments before, 
the sacrifice to my King. I w’as content, however, 
with directing the pit to be dug under a spreading 
tree, with a soft white wood, like a plane-tree, into 
which I cut the inscription next day, according to 
my promise. Having had the bones deposited in it, 
I now went on with preparations for holy Mass, 
which were continued until the sun set, and the sud- 
den darkness of the tropics came on us. 


Nexi morning early, we were awakened by con- 
fused outcries, partly of angry shouts, partly of sup- 
plication and wailing. These made me know that 
the chiefs and warriors had returned with their pri- 
soners from Maheine-taho. Indeed, it appeared, in 
their zeal to bring them before us, they had hurried 
them on through the night ; so that the poor wretches 
were half dead with fatigue as well as terror ; covered 
with mud, from being dragged through swampy 


THE CATHOLIC CRU801. 


509 


drays ; and bleeding from the cuts and wounds they 
had received from rocks and the prickly shrubs of the 
island. On questioning Samuel, the young Indian 
Christian, he assured me he had done all in his power 
to prevent this rough treatment being used ; but he 
found the utmost his wand of peace would do was to 
preserve their lives : had it not been for that, the 
natives would have brought back, not the offenders 
themselves, but their heads only. 

I now requested of the king, as I was to judge 
the accused, so I might dispose of them before the 
trial; which I proposed should take place after the 
sacrifice I was about to offer. He readily consented 
to this ; supposing I meant to keep them without food, 
blindfolded, and pinioned above the elbow, according 
to their custom. But he was much surprised when 
I gave them directions to have them taken into my 
own hut, and.tended by the Christian Indians, who 
fed them and washed their wounds. All this was 
above his comprehension ; but I could see by their 
looks that many among the multitude approved ot 
it, though they dared not say anything. It gave me 
an opportunity of repeating, that my King loved both 
justice and mercy ; and I said, it was neither merciful 
nor just to treat men before their trial as though they 
had been found guilty. I was on the point of saying, 
too, that my King had once come down on earth, 
and when there, had washed the feet of His own fol- 
lowers ; but I forbore, feeling it was only by degrees 
that anything so supernatural as the sacred mysteries 
of the Incarnation could be imparted to these bar- 
barous minds. 


610 


THB ADTBNTURES OF OWEN EVANS) 


“ But,” said the king, turning to me, ‘‘ how will 
you perform the trial, since you have burnt all lh« 
oheeosV’* I ought to have said, that among the 
superstitious uses those objects were put to, they 
were usually brought forth, with solemn incantations 
and many ceremonies, and used in some way to 
decide all accusations and disputes; being first 
smeared with blood drawn from the arms of both 
the contending parties. But in offences committed 
(or supposed to be so) against the king himself, I 
found he was in the habit of simply sending his 
executioner to bring him the head of the accused 
person, without further inquiry by oloeeo or any 
other. 

For the present, I only smiled at his question, and 
told Para-marama he should see something of the 
^ay in which we adminstered justice in my country. 
Then, finding from the Indians that the accused had 
eaten, and were refreshed, I placed a guard at the 
door of the hut in which they were kept, and fore- 
bade, on pain of my severe displeasure, that any one 
should enter. This had its effect ; and I proceeded 
to vest for Mass. 

This time, I had no need to exhort the multitudes 
to silence and reverence : for those who had come 
with us from Maheine-taho (or had run on wildly be- 
fore us,) had already, as I afterwards found, trans- 
lated to the people of Ehoto-boe, nearly word foi 
word, the short address I had made before celebrat- 
ing holy Mass there. The same intense curiosity 
now prevailed, mingled with awe : and I observed 
that the queen and her attendants were kneeling 


fttS OATttOLlO C&U801B. 


511 


^thin the door of the royal hut. I thought it hest, 
lowever, to give the multitude an exhortation, as I 
nad done at the coast- village : and this time I drew 
somewhat nearer to the great mystery of the Incama' 
tion ; telling them, my good Lord and King was so 
filled with love for all mankind, that He came from 
time to time to visit them, and remained on earth 
%mong them, now in one way, now in another : I en- 
’iarged on those words, delicia mea esse cum filiis 
hominum I promised that hereafter I would explain 
to them the great way He had taken to dwell thus 
among men for thirty-three years. That, I said, 
was a long, long time ago, before the reign of Matii 
tehepa, befoi Eyca-sousaao, before the kings theii 
predecessors, for thousands upon thousands of 
moons. 

When 1 mentioned so long a time back, as they 
were little used to any long reckoning of time, what 
I said to them struck them with wonder: they broke 
into murmurs of surprise, saying, “ Too-pooe^ too^pooe!*^ 
which means, strange or wonderful, I resumed my 
discourse, saying, they must not be surprised at this ; 
for I had much greater wonders to tell them as to 
the length of time (they had no word in their lan- 
guage, till 1 afterwards made one, to express eternity) 
that my King had reigned, and shown His love to 
His subjects. But, to come back (I said) to His more 
especial residence among them,) when the thirty-three 
years were expired, the period He had determined 
i/o remain, and when He was to go up to His Throne 

* “ My delights are to be with the sons of men’*— i^ , 
Tiii,31. £d 


612 THE ADYENTURES OF OWEN SYANI, 

in heaven, He decreed another wonderful method by 
which He should still be with His subjects below. 

“ So,” continued I, “ the great King is upon earth 
by one method, and in heaven by another. Besides, 
His power is so great that He can be in many places 
on earth at one and the same time : and, in truth, He 
is so. Furthermore, there are places which He 
comes thus to visit, from time to time, as He is now 
coming (for the first time in this particular way) to 
Ehoto-boe. You cannot understand these things, O 
men of Toonati-nooka 1 but they are true, and most 
true. Believe me when I tell you; for this is part of 
the message of the great King to you, and for your 
good.” Then I added much the same exhortation as 
at Mabeine-taho ; beseeching them to make an act of 
belief in the Presence of the great King, and to adore 
Him on the altar when they heard the little shell 
sound. I bade them ask Him, as a great gift, to make 
them able to believe in His Presence, and do His will. 

Then I proceeded with holy Mass. As regards the 
behaviour of the vast multitudes now collected on the 
spot (and I believe we had there the great majority 
of the inhabitants of this island), it was a repetition 
of what had taken place the day before on the coast, 
only on a larger scale. A more strange and solemn 
spectacle, I think, was seldom witnessed since the 
days of the Apostles, than this crowd of simple 
savages, thirsting for the waters of life, prepared to 
believe, and only desirous to be instructed. Thus, 
for the second time within two days, the Adorable 
Victim offered Himself by my unworthy hands for 
their salvation. 


THB CATHOLIC CRTJ80B. 


5ia 

Wliile I made my act of thanksgiving after Mass, 
my companions who had been left in the boats, ar 
rived ; having travelled hither more at leisure than 
the accused men had been dragged along. The new 
comers shared in all the honours of the feast that was 
now prepared for myself and the rest: the king 
showing no small anxiety to wipe from our remem- 
brance the insult offered to us at Maheine-taho. 

The banquet over, I proceeded at once to the triah 
For this, I told the king that, as I was not come to 
deprive him of his lawful authority, I requested him 
to preside over the whole proceeding, and to confirm 
the judgment I should pronounce. He consented to 
this : only, as such a ceremony was totally new to 
him, he stipulated that he should be called on to do 
no more than sit upon a seat elevated above mine, 
while I conducted the trial. I was therefore placed 
on a mat, on the king’s left, but raised enough to 
enable the crowd to see and hear me ; while the king 
sat on a rude throne of logs, four or five feet higher. 
When the accused Indians (who were but eleven in 
all, some of the rest having escaped up the country) 
were brought before us, I perceived, from their 
looks of terror, they expected nothing but instant 
death, or perhaps lingering tortures. 

I therefore spoke to them mildly ; saying the crime 
they were charged with was, no doubt, a grave one : 
that all nations held the ambassador from a great 
king to be a kind of sacred person, and this they 
knew, from the respect wherewith the envoys be- 
tween Toonati and Hai-vavaoo were treated on both 
idde(k But I assured them, not only should they 


614 ME IfiVENtUKEB Of OWEN EVAEg, 

have a patient bearing, but the evidence brought 
against them should be carefully sifted, and every 
doubtful point allowed in their favour. Whatever 
could be urged as a fair or pardonable motive for 
their act, should be taken in the best sense, and weigh 
on their side. In short, I tried my best to state, in 
this savage place, the principles of equity that 
guide (or ought to guide) our Christian courts of 
justice in Europe. It was plain to see all this was 
new to them ; once or twice, the king and his tayakeet 
showed signs of displeasure and impatience at what 
they heard. But the poor oppressed people drank 
in all I said with eager ears ; and as far as they dared 
in the presence of those who had acted so differently 
to them, testified their assent and joy. 

After this (having taken care that the witnesses 
should be kept separate, without opportunity of con- 
ferring together), I entered upon the trial, by sum- 
moning them, one after another, to give evidence. 
The rest, meanwhile, were placed under guard, by 
my orders, out of ear-shot: and each witness, after 
saying what he had to say, and being cross-examined 
by the accused (in which they exhibited great 
shrewdness and ingenuity) was marched off under 
custody of one of the king’s guards, to a rising ground 
beyond, where he could not hear what was going on. 
This I provided, m case they might be summoned 
back on some point of evidence ; but is was the least 
popular of all my proceeding; both witnesses and 
guards being so intensely curious to hear everything 
of this new process, that the utmost vigilance was 
needed to prevent their stealing back to the spot. At 


TBl OATHOLIO ORUSOB. 


515 


Uflt, I put them all in charge of the old Indian, and 
gave him six of the men with their muskets to over- 
awe them, and keep them aloof. 

It needed no small patience to thread the maze of 
such counter-evidence, mutual accusations, noise, 
rage, wailing, entreaties, protestations, denials, as 
now arose. The accused being eleven in number, 
and the witnesses, altogether, as many as thirty-six, 
the process was long and intricate. But I soon 
found many of these pretended witnesses had seen 
nothing ; so that their evidence was worthless. They 
had trumped up a story in concert, which broke 
down at every turn. This they had done, partly 
from motives of private revenge towards certain of 
the accused, partly to curry favour with the king and 
myself : thinking we should be pleased with the pun- 
ishment of some, at least, guilty or not, to satisfy us 
for the outrage committed. 

I thought it well to make an example of these 
fklse witnesses ; so, after three cases of such delib- 
erate lying had been proved, I interrupted the trial 
to give them a summary punishment. 

First, I explained to the bystanders, and the of- 
fenders themselves, how heinous a crime they had 
been guilty of. I told them, though they did not 
as yet know all the laws of my King, they had a law 
written in their own hearts, bidding them to act 
justly and speak the truth. This law, I said, bound 
at all times, and even in trivial things ; how much 
more, then, when the life of a fellow-creature was at 
stake? What crime could well be more hateful. 


5l6 THE ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 

than to swear away another man’s life by a falsa 
oath ? Proceeding in this way, I then said it was a 
very lenient sentence I was about to inflict, that each 
false witness should receive a dozen strokes with a 
bamboo cane, one half on the souls of his feet, the 
other half on his shoulders. 

The multitude greatly applauded this sentence, 
which was executed without delay ; and the cries of 
the sufierers formed a sort of proclamation, more 
relished perhaps by the people than by the king and 
his tayakees, that upright justice was thenceforward 
to be the rule in Toonati-nooka. 

Having cleared away this mass of false evidence, 1 
found there was proof remaining against flve or six, 
at the most, as being implicated in the attack on the 
boats ; and though many more appeared to be abet- 
tors or sympathizers, I kept strictly to such evidence 
as went against the actual transgressors. These few, 
moreover, were proved to be among the men of 
Ehoto-boe who had been most forward to welcome 
us on our arrival. They had expressed themselves 
delighted at our coming, and had persuaded some of 
their kinsmen and others, not so well disposed, to 
treat us with hospitality. Several witnesses also ap- 
peared to speak for their general character. On the 
whole, it became evident that the attack had been 
made in no hostile spirit, but was dictated by an ir- 
resistible desire to keep us amongst them, and pre- 
vent all chanoe of our sailing from Toonati-nooka 
again. 

All this was confirmed by evidence of our two 
white men and the Indian, left in the boats. They 


THE CATHOLIC CRUSOE. 


617 


declared, the attacking party, though resolute for 
the destruction of the boats, had treated themselves 
with as much gentleness as they could, under the 
circumstances. They had, indeed, disarmed our men 
by force, coming on them suddenly while they were 
overcome by sleep in the middle of the day. And 
•o far, our men frankly acknowledged the fault was 
in great measure their own : for, had they observed 
my strict charge, and kept one always on the watch, 
this great disaster, which has perhaps determined our 
fate for the rest of our days, never had happened. 
But, beyond securing the boats, to destroy them, the 
Indians gave cur men, and their own countrymen, all 
possible good usage : even carrying them ashore on 
their backs, so that not a thread of their clothes was 
wetted. They also entreated them, on their knees, 
not to be offended at what they had done : they as- 
sured the two Europeans (through the Indian inter- 
preter) it had been only to secure the happiness of 
having the “white lords” reside among them, for 
the good of themselves, their families, and the whole 
island and nation. Finally, they had besought 
them to intercede with the king and myself, to screen 
them from the punishment which they (reasonably) 
feared was hanging over their heads. 

All this considered, I felt bound to make every 
distinction between the degree of fault on the part 
of the aggressors, and the amount of misfortune we 
suffered thereby. True, this destruction of the 
boats has probably made our leaving Toonati-nooka 
for ever hopeless, by destroying our independence of 
aotion. For I scarcely think we shall be able to per* 


618 


THB ADVENTURES OF OWEN EVANS, 


suade the king to grant us a war canoe to return to 
Assumption Isle, whence we came. And, the more 
valuable and important we become to him, as I trust 
we may, by the conversion of himself and his sub- 
jects to faith and civilization, the less likely will he 
be to consent. Yet, on the other hand, this very ob* 
Stacie may turn to a benefit, if it settles the minds 
of our men to become colonists in the place ; and for 
myself, it has solved (in a way I little thought of) a 
painful doubt that vexed me : being under promise 
to return to my little flock in Assumption Isle, yet 
seeing so wide a field of labor for souls opening on 
me here. 

The end of the trial was, the culprits were let oflT 
with a slight punishment ; much lighter than that in- 
flicted on the false witnesses; and this diflference 
made between the two classes of oflTenders was an 
other instruction to the savages on the nature of 
truth, of justice, and the rights of man. 

I have little more to add, but that since our first 
landing, the grace of God and the power of the evil 
one have been contending for the possession of these 
poor heathens’ souls. They listen to me, indeed, 
with great eagerness, and acknowledge the goodness 
of my Master’s laws. They are most grateful, too, 
for my interference with the king and his tayakees on 
their behalf, and for the temporal improvements I 
have effected, and the arts of life I have taught them. 
On the other hand, the power of corruption is strong ; 
they shrink from the holiness of Christian laws ; and 
I foresee, one great obstacle to its being received 


ms OATHOLTO ORDSOS. 


51t 


will be the absolute necessity of their renouncing 
some of their heathenish customs, and polygamy. 
The enmity of Toohaeca, the king’s nephew, is 
likely to prove another source of trouble to us, or 
even danger. I am credibly told, he has vowed 
vengeance against us; and, though hated by th 
generality for his cruel and overbearing disposition, 
he has a small party of the tayakees with him — men 
of like mind, who have taken him for their leader. 
They would side with him more openly, were it not 
for their dread of the king, who favours us in so sig- 
nal a way. How long that favour may last, or how 
toon the enemy of souls may succeed in troubling 
our peace, is known to God alone. Upon His loving 
providence we repose securely. And, with a prayer 
that the wild elements may be overruled to waft 
this my narrative to hands capable of sending us 
help, I commit it to the waves, on this, the thir- 
teenth anniversary of my religious profession, and 
of our residence in Toonati the seventh movtb of the 
•eoond year. 



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peacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing Agent; Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: 



EEPEI 

PRESERVATION TECHNOLOGIES, ir 
1114 William Flinn Highway 
Glenshaw, PA 15116-2657 
412-486-1161 


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